Full statement by Vena Ikem over allegation of bringing cultists to Obudu bye-election

Barr. Venatius Ikem

PRESS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE “WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE” OF GOVERNOR AYADE’S AIDES

In Cross River State under Governor Ayade certain notorious facts are self- evident:
That he has recruited over 4,000 cultists into his Government at the highest level and his Chief of Staff Mr. Martin Orim is rumored as the leader of all cultists. This allegation is before all security agencies, in the state and except for cover ups, he should be in jail.

That several, if not most, of his commissioners are cultist and rumored to be notorious sponsors of killings and kidnappings in the state, is abo a notorious fact.

That his Chief of Staff has been accused in several such cases of involvement in killings and violent attacks on persons critical of the Government but the Government and the Commissioner of Police prevent his arrest each time a team of detectives are sent from Police Headquarter to arrest him, including the one (1) personally incidented. All these appointments were preparatory to the elections in 2019.

It is on record that attempts have been made on my life since the primaries of PDP in 2014 and the perpetrators have since been given appointments. This is the background for bye election at Obudu, where both the Governor and his Chief of Staff hail from. It was therefore no surprise at the violence unleashed on the people of Obudu in the name of delivering a candidate who never went to Obudu for the campaigns and election, not even for one day! This fact can be verified easily.

The so called “press conference” is nothing but an arrogant confirmation of their collusion with the police in Cross River State to intimidate the opposition in the state. We stand for free, fair and democratic expressing of individual preference demonstrated at voting.

It is on record that the Government of Sen. Ayade during the week of the election made several desperate efforts to obtain a warrant for my arrest by hook and crook without success, including an application ex parte to a magistrate’s court  by the very incompetent Attorney General on Tuesday which was rejected and another one on Thursday which was equally rejected and a final one to the Commissioner of Police  Cross River State who advised the Attorney-General who should actually been the advisor in the circumstance.

In frustration, the said Attorney General is still displaying his ignorance by further shopping for fora to incarcerate the clearly innocent Barrister Vena Ikem failing which they are resorting to press blackmail with a rag of paper jocularly titled “World Press Conference”. I do not understand how a price of paper could ever become a “Conference”.

In recognition of their hideous agenda the piece of tissue paper was not even signed and so it leaves a lot to be desired for otherwise self-respecting pressmen  to use it as a credible document.

For the avoidance of doubt, we have been informed that some of our supporters who came to attend a rally for the APC candidate scheduled to hold on Thursday, 9th of August, oblivious of the fact that our candidate Mr. Adah Ishamali had been forced to abandon his campaign following violent attacks by thugs sponsored by the Agents of Cross River State Government, had travelled to Abuja to lodge a complain at Police Headquarters. The candidate was only called when his visitors arrived Obudu to discover that he was out of town. He encouraged them to stay put until his arrival for the rally. Unfortunately as was the case through the election these visitors were arrested ostensibly for involvement in a “Communal Clash” at Obudu! It is on record that as at the time of their arrest, there was nothing like a communal clash going on at Obudu.

Even when they clearly identified themselves as APC members they were arrested and detained and after 2 days at Obudu, were moved to Calabar just to keep them away from the campaign. Others including Barrister Akwaji, Don Henry were arrested and kept till after the election, at Obudu on Sunday.

At all material times, I did not and will never get involved in any violent activities or cult activities for purpose of winning elections.

The APC friends are only 12 in number and we do not know the 20 persons lumped with them, probably their own cultists who they are using to trump up imaginary statements in the same desperate attempt to procure the arrest of Barr. Venatius Ikem.

It is on record that these accused person have been in detention since Tuesday, 7th August and it took all of 10 days for these cowards to claim that the culprits made implicating statements against my person, all in the vain hope to give the Commissioner of Police to order my rest.

It is also curious that those sponsoring the so called “World Press Conference” have information about police document which are not yet in the public domain, not even having testified in count! So who is feeding them with information within the exclusive knowledge of the Police? Like the statements of accused person.

It is ridiculous to accuse me of sponsoring cultist for violent activities and in the same document inform their “World Press Conference” that the perpetrators “ have been charged to court for promoting native war and are remanded in custody”

These desperate political appointees who could not win the support of Obudu people during the elections but depended entirely on Police intimidation to secure ballot boxes and thumb printed massively, hope to redeem their battered image, exposed by their rejection at the polls, by further procuring Police, judiciary support and press sympathy against the popular leaders of Obudu people, as clearly demonstrated in the election that was conducted on Saturday, 11th August, 2018.

I remain committed to the idea of democracy, freedom of expression and the right to Freedom of Association.

Questions for answers are:
Is it through the instrumentality of a so called “World Press Conference that a case is incidented at the police?
Is it through the instrumentality of a “ World Press Conference “ that the police to whom a statement is made implicating others will now act?

It is regrettable that the hallowed chambers of the Cross River State Executive Council, from where responsible people have managed the affairs of this once great state will be desecrated in this manner, hosting a spurious crowd of clowns pretending to be members of a State Executive Council, making offensive, indefensible, libelous public statements, shamelessly lying to assuage the ego of an equally shamelessly Governor.

Governor Ayade has indeed completed our descent from civilized society. What a shame?

Barrister Venatius A. Ikem