The 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, has firmly denied allegations of involvement in reported harassment incidents at the Abonita Cocoa Estate in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State.
Speaking to journalists in Calabar on Wednesday, the Brigade’s spokesperson, Capt. Jimoh Jamaila, stressed that no soldiers had been officially deployed to the estate, nor were any personnel attached to individuals operating within the farmland.
“There is no official deployment of soldiers to the farm, and none is attached to any individual there,” Jamaila stated. “The army will be excited if the affected allottees raising the alarm can identify the soldiers in question.”
This response comes amidst rising tension over ownership of the estate, a matter that has pitted the Cross River State Government against the family of the late Mbu Liku, who claims ancestral rights to the land.
While several lawsuits regarding the estate remain pending in state courts, the administration of Governor Bassey Otu has moved ahead to allocate plots within the estate to selected farmers.
Recently, some of the allottees—including Joseph Ekong, Duke Njor, Boniface, Nic Ntui, Clement Isong-Amba, and Etta Roland—alleged that armed soldiers, reportedly acting under the instruction of Mbu Liku, had assaulted and chased them away from their farms. They also accused the intruders of harvesting their produce.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Nic Ntui said, “The soldiers, reportedly accompanying Liku, have been preventing us from accessing farms which we legitimately paid for and acquired from the State Government.”
Ntui further cited existing court decisions, noting, “There’s already an existing ruling in suit No: HM/73/2020, and a dismissal in suit No: HC/MSC 24/2024—an action by way of prerogative orders of mandamus and prohibition.”
Adding weight to the allottees’ claims, the State Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Okoi Obono (rtd.), confirmed that Liku had allegedly used military personnel stationed at Achufa, Ajassor Mission, and Etomi checkpoints to intimidate farmers.
“Mr. Mbu Liku should be warned to desist from eliciting the services of soldiers or security agencies to further his negative tendencies immediately,” Obono cautioned.
However, in a swift rebuttal, Liku denied all allegations, stating, “At no time did I engage the services of any soldier to physically assault, intimidate, or harass a fellow farmer as claimed by some of the allottees.”
He dismissed the accusations as an act of blackmail by individuals driven by selfish interests.
As tensions simmer, the cocoa estate remains at the center of a bitter ownership dispute with legal, political, and security dimensions that continue to stir unrest among stakeholders.
