Assault On Ex-Lawmaker: Retired General Angry, Tasks Ayade
3 min read
A former United Nations Force Commander for Sudan and South Sudan, Maj. Gen Moses Bisong Obi (rtd) and elder brother to Mark Obi, the former Cross River State House of Assembly member that was allegedly beaten up by an aide of the governor of the state, Prof Ben Ayade has challenged the governor to order the arrest and prosecution of the aide.
Obi who is also the head of the socio-cultural group, the Ochibe Boki told TNN in a telephone interview that his family and the entire Boki people were unhappy over the incident. He said his brother did not deserve the harassment he got from the governor’s aide popularly called General Iron.
He however said he had been in touch with the governor and the state commissioner of police who have promised that they would handle the matter dispassionately. He said the least expectation was the prosecution of the governor’s aide.
Mark Obi was also an aide of the governor and was relieved of his position when he refused to join the governor in APC. He had chosen to remain in the PDP and vowed not to defect with the governor.
The retired Army General said in the interview that “I have been told by Mark before, that a certain guy, they call him Thomas Tawo, they even call him General Iron, whatever that means, he has been leading some youths to cause a lot of havoc. It’s been on for a long time.
“ I was made to believe by Mark that he went to his house and threatened him. I believe Mark informed the police then and on this occasion, I just heard yesterday(last week) that Mark has been attack. I’ve seen the pictures- by the same person and his gang- I spoke with the DPO yesterday but let me not go beyond that.
“I am also told this same young man has appointment in Cross River State government and it will be difficult to believe that his activities are not known, when the same state, Cross River State said they have done disarmament of this guy and his group, I’m even believing they may have granted them amnesty, whatever that means.
He said information at this disposal was that Mark was in coma and about to be moved to a hospital in Calabar. According to him, his house was also destroyed by the gang. According to him, those who attacked him aimed to kill him.
He added: “I personally feel that governance has been reduced very seriously to a very low level, and that is sad. Even on this security, I had made efforts in the past to resolve the issues of security in Boki. Boki was never known to be this way. I made efforts, I spoke with the governor, I held meetings with the people; we held meetings over and over and over, spoke with governor when there were crisis to intervene, set up committees to look at this thing.
“It’s not a state of war, but something is turning into a state of anarchy. It’s terrible, it’s unbelievable. I’m disturbed that we are getting wrong when it comes to governance and the issue of how we manage our youth and how we manage power.
“Well, I leave all options open, but remember until how many weeks ago, month ago Mark was a legal appointee under the same government, you know, these are not hidden things. I don’t want to speculate, so much for now, I think there is criminality in this thing when you look at it from all sorts of angle, but let me not start going too far, as at this very moment.
“If you are in your house, and you are attacked, and properties destroyed, I would expect that the law should take its course.”
Last week, the senator representing Cross River Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Sandy Onor had called for the immediate arrest, detention and prosecution of the suspect accused of being behind the attack.
