Ex-Special Adviser Tasks Gov. Bassey Otu On 32 Ceded Cocoa Estate

Former Special Adviser to Cross River State government on Cocoa Development and Control, Ntufam Dr Oscar Ofuka has charged Gov. Bassey Otu and 10th State  House of Assembly to recover 32 hectares of state government cocoa plots ceded by one Mark Prince to himself in violation of a court order which restrained him from encroaching into the 32 hectares of cocoa plot.

Ofuka gave the charge while reacting to allegations by some farm contractors that he was keeping mum even when he heard that legitimate cocoa farm contractors at Abonita Government Cocoa Estate had been allegedly chased away by Mark Prince claiming to be the original owner of the controversial 32 hectares.

Ofuka said should the government fail to tackle the alleged invaders, it should expect more encroachment and subsequent take over of more hectares of government cocoa estates by people from its host communities.

“There is a valid court order with Suit No:HM/73/2020 restraining him from taking over the 32 hectares. The state should seek redress in court for contempt. If that is not done definitely a precedence has been set for any other person to rise up and take over government land. If this persists, it would become survival of the fittest,” he warned.

According to him, paragraph 3 of the said judgement stated that 32 hectares in Abonita Cocoa Estate, in Etung LGA of Cross River State alledgely ceded to Mark Prince’s family is still a property of State government.

He said that the court had ordered Mark Prince’s family to vacate the cocoa farm.

He said that the development could lead to loss of source of revenue in a state that had lost its littoral status due to ceding of Bakassi and loss of several oil wells to neighboring state.

The State High Court sitting in Ikom before his lordship Hon. Justice Eno Ebri, had on July 5, 2022, ordered that Cocoa lease allocation under small holder scheme will not be taken over from lessees not even by government or its agents outside terms of its lease.

The court had in Suit No: HM/73/ 2020 ordered that the 32 hectares in Abonita Cocoa Estate, Etung LGA, alledgely ceded to Mark Prince’s family is still property of state government.

“I charge the state governor to send security men to protect government farms from balkanization so as to block those loopholes where government is about to lose one of its sources of revenue.

“If the situation is not urgently arrested, we may likely not have what is called government cocoa estate again as more trespassers are warming up to encroach into the estate.

“If you allow a single individual to do away with government property, there is tendency for many who are likely going to encroach into the Cocoa Estate to take away ownership of the estate from government.

“As a critical stakeholder in Cocoa sector, it would be bad if I sit down, fold my arms and watch things go wrong and allow people destroy the strides which we recorded in the cocoa sector.

Confirming the incident in a telephone conversation, an aggrieved contractor, Mr. Njor Asu, who said he is one of the contractors of Abonita cocoa estate, condemned the take over of the 32 hectares allegedly by hoodlums.

“We were chased away from the estate by a certain individual aided by soldiers from Afi Barracks, Ikom. I ran alongside my workers and abandoned the heap of Cocoa pods worth millions of naira and hoodlums took possession of Cocoa and made away with the produce,” Asu said.

Reacting to the issue, Mark Prince Leku, stated that the Cocoa plot that had been in contention was his father’s farm land encroached upon by state government decades ago.

He said that the 32 hectares originally belongs to his family, stressing that it was government that released the cocoa plots to his family after he discovered some papers on the property.

Also reacting to the issue, Army Public Relations Officer, 13 Brigade Cross River State, Capt. Dorcas Aluko, said “I will get back to you once I get to the commander of Afi Barracks Ikom before I can say anything.”