By Asuquo Cletus
Cocoa contractors operating at the Abonita Government-owned Cocoa Estate in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State have called for the immediate withdrawal of soldiers allegedly deployed to the area to intimidate and harass them.
The contractors made this demand during an interactive session with our correspondent in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State on Sunday.
The aggrieved contractors appealed to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, to intervene by withdrawing soldiers reportedly providing security for a cocoa merchant in the area identified as Mr Mbu Liku.
The cocoa contractors, who operate under the stateโs smallholdersโ scheme, include Mr Joseph Ekong, Pastor Duke Njor, Ekuri Boniface, Nic Ntui, Clement Isong-Amba, and Pastor Etta Roland, among others. They alleged that soldiers had, on several occasions, assaulted and harassed them.
Spokesperson for the group, Mr Nic Ntui, claimed that the soldiers, who usually accompany the cocoa merchant Mbu Liku, have been preventing them from accessing their cocoa plots, which they had duly acquired through official channels.
He alleged that armed soldiers regularly storm the estate, intimidate them, and chase them away while enabling Mr Liku to harvest cocoa unchallenged.
โThere is already an existing ruling in Suit No: HM/73/2020 and dismissal in Suit No: HC/MSC 24/2024โan action by way of prerogative orders of mandamus and prohibition,โ Ntui maintained.
It is recalled that there have been ongoing disputes over land ownership and allocation at the Abonita axis of the estate, with court cases still pending in various jurisdictions.
The affected farmers have called for a thorough investigation by the military high command to identify the officer responsible for deploying soldiers into the cocoa estate.
The Abonita Cocoa Estate has long been a source of contention, with the Cross River State government facing considerable challenges in managing the estate and mediating disputes among stakeholders.
Meanwhile, an update from the State Security Adviser (SSA) to the Cross River State Government, retired Maj. Gen. Okoi Obono, following his 12 April 2025 visit to the Abonita Cocoa Estate, confirmed claims by the allottees that soldiers stationed at Achufa, Ajassor Mission, and Etomi checkpoints were used by Mr Liku to intimidate them.
The security adviserโs report, sighted by LEADERSHIP, recommended that the officer responsible for detailing troops to Mr Liku be redeployed and cautioned. It also advised that soldiers attached to Mr Liku be immediately withdrawn.
โThe soldiers were usually detailed to Mr Mbu Liku by the platoon commander deployed at Achufa checkpoint along the IkomโMfum Border Road.
โMr Mbu Liku should be warned to desist from eliciting the services of soldiers or security agencies to further his negative tendencies immediately,โ the SSAโs update stated.
A letter from O.N. Agbor & Co. Legal Practitioners dated 4 April 2025, and signed by S.O. Ijeoma Esq., also alleged the intimidation, arrest, and torture of their clients, who are allottees under the Cross River Cocoa Estate smallholdersโ scheme.
The letter, addressed to the Chief of Defence Staff at the Armed Forces Complex, Area 7, Garki, Abuja, appealed to the military to stop aiding Mr Liku in allegedly intimidating their clients.
The legal practitioners stated that their clients remain the original lessees of Blocks 7A and 8C of the Abonita Cocoa Estate, under valid leases granted by the Cross River State Government through its Ministry of Agriculture.
They further alleged that soldiers, in the company of Mr Liku, stormed Blocks 7Aโ8C on 29 March and 2 April 2025, harassed the farm contractors, and carted away about five wet bags of cocoa beans as well as farming implements, including knapsack sprayers.
โWe therefore write to plead that you use your good office to address this situation, which is capable of bringing the highly revered Nigerian Army into disrepute.
โWhile we appreciate the myriad of security challenges being faced by the country, to which the Army has been doing its best to keep the country safe,โ the letter maintained.
However, in reaction, the Army Public Relations Officer (PRO) in Cross River, Capt. Jimoh Jamaila, denied any involvement of soldiers in the alleged assault and harassment. He urged the affected allottees to identify the soldiers in question, noting that the Army would welcome such cooperation.
In his defence, cocoa merchant Mr Mbu Liku, also known as Mark Prince, denied the allegations, insisting that the contentious plot at the Abonita Cocoa Estate belonged to his late father.
