Govt Not Behind Odama's Arrest; Alleged LG Staff, Victims of Fraud - Info Commissioner
By Missang AKPET
The Cross River State Government has distanced itself from the arrest of one Denis Odama a businessman in Abuja over alleged inciting social media comments about the governor, saying the petition did not originate from the state government.
The State Commissioner for Information, Pastor Ekpenyong Cobham, while fielding questions from journalists in Calabar on Tuesday said if the petition had emanated from the state government, it would have come from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government or the Attorney General.
According to him, the petition was filed in a personal capacity by aides who used their official addresses for easy identification with the state government not being party to it in anyway.
“That presupposes the fact that if it was Cross River State Government that had constituted the petition against Thomas Odama, it would have arisen from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government or from the Office of the Attorney General".
“Nobody watches a stranger slap his mother or father without reaction. When the young man Odama decided to degenerate to the point of going to the executive and official handle of the state government to make such unprecedented remarks, it called for the requirement of the police to initiate the process of interrogating the suspect" Cobham said.
Cobham described Odama’s remarks, including allegations that the Commissioner for Youth and Sports was holding nude material against the governor, as an act of absolute insolence and a criminal act under laws regulating the social media space.
“This is not a subject of politics, It is a condescending issue, due process of law is taking its course and whether the processes are in conformity with the law that is what should form
the focus of our discourse" he added.
The Commissioner also addressed claims by some persons parading as local government staff who say they had been employed in 2025 by the state government and are being owed over 10 months salaries.
Cobham said government has no contract with these people, describing them as victims of a ring of fraudsters and job scammers who were not engaged by government.
He explained that government took proactive action after discovering that certain persons who were placed in positions of trust had become complicit to compromising the process
“When you possess a genuine document which shows that you have a valid contract with a government and you feel you've been treated wrongly, bring it to them and sit on a roundtable discussion".
"I believe this person's know something we don't know and are not ready to let out the information. As we speak, none of the claimants had identified who issued them appointment letters or collected money from them for employment. If they do that, then government is bound to get such persons who are so accused arrested".
“Government wage bill is not inexhaustible because resources must be attributed to other sectors too. If they believe they have been unjustly treated, they can soundly and mentally seek redress in court" the commissioner added.
As at the time of filling this report, Odama remains in police custody awaiting prosecution.
