I have been following carefully events surrounding the alleged attempt to push out Mr Ukpai I. Ukpai from a company he co-founded in 2012 - Smart Drilling services Ltd (SDS). I read the April and May 2015 articles by SaharaReporters (SR) and ran into articles by and for those accused of masterminding this alleged corporate evil in other online newspapers/media. One article was by one Igboeli Arinze in 247ureports.com and another by one Onuoha Udi in Elombah.com all attempting to defend Bart Nwibe and his co-accused. From the accounts of SR, Mr Ukpai ran SDS from formation from his own compound in Port Harcourt only to face pushout via a gang up in the board led by Bart Nwibe when oil contracts started coming in.
Nevertheless, I particularly felt relieved on reading SR’s May 2015 article where it announced that the SDS corporate dispute was headed for the courts. Every sensible person would be happy to learn that the parties have submitted themselves to the court. I was jolted and worried upon reading here from SR’s December 03 article that Mr. Ukpai was seized from a court premises in the presence of his lawyers, ‘harassed and stuffed commando style into a car’ on November 30 when he went for a court hearing on the suit he filed, seized by men led by Uche Ejiogu and Ben-Chika Uzoagu – two of the respondents to the case in court. I learnt the November 30 event took place at the Federal High court Port Harcourt premises. The meaning of this November 30 action by the respondents is that they want to harass and intimidate Mr Ukpai even in court and may be even out of court. This shows how desperate the respondents are! This should be condemned by all law abiding citizens of the world!
Because the case is in court, I do not want to delve into the issues here. From my personal investigations, and from the bits I gleaned from SR’s investigation, it seems Mr Ukpai is an honest Nigerian who wants to do things the right way which is partly why his adversaries want him out of SDS by all means. My singular interest in writing this article is to alert Nigerians to the threat posed to Mr Ukpai’s life by the actions of some of the respondents in the case in court. Why am I interested?
I am a full bred Ohafia man, same as Mr Ukpai. Ohafia people by culture and tradition do not look the other way when their own is being threatened to the extent that his life is in danger, especially if his hands are clean. The world knows Ohafia people culturally as warriors symbolized by the Ohafia war dance. In olden times, the Ohafia are known to go to any length to fight to protect their own and are known to have razed down enemy villages or entire clans for touching even one Ohafia baby. The Ohafia clan is known in Igboland and in Nigeria for this and for standing by justice and equity even ready to defend strangers in our own land at our own expense. In modern times, as recent as the late 1990s, some persons posed a great threat (life and property) to the Ohafia furniture makers along Ikwere road in Port Harcourt. One fateful day, the villagers around Ikwere road woke up to see Ohafia people from outside the Rivers state arrive the area to protect their kinsmen.
Ukpai’s relations informed me that though Ukpai informed the Police in a petition late last year that his life is in danger, nothing was done concerning that aspect. Up till date, some of his relations tell of strange persons coming to snoop around Ukpai’s home, making threat calls to him, and trailing him. Infact, plots by the ring leaders to accost Ukpai to impound his official car had leaked severally. A relation informed me that he has seen one of the respondents severally with suspicious persons very close to Ukpai’s home gate. Aside the November 30 event, Ukpai’s life is in danger. All Ohafians at home and in diaspora and our sister clans should remember our dictum: onye para Ohafia mma, Ohafia apara ya ukom ekegi oku. It is our duty to rally round and protect our own where and if the security agencies fail to protect him.
An elderly man from Ukpai’s village summed up the feelings in Ohafia this way: ''We the Ohafia people believe the opponents of Ukpai should submit to the court system but they have shown they cannot submit. They are ready to do anything. We are watching every move they make. Let no hair on Ukpai’s head fall to the ground in any way. We are well informed that as at November 30, Ukpai was healthy in all ramifications. Let it be known that we the Ohafia people will not sit and fold our hands should anything, anything whatsoever happen to our son Mr Ukpai I. Ukpai''.
I have made personal inquiries, including collating the names that feature in all the articles in the mentioned online newspapers/media, to know who are the ring leaders in the gang up against Mr Ukpai and where they come from. Should anything untoward happen to Ukpai, the Ohafia people should hold responsible the following persons and their supporters: Chief Bart Nwibe and Sir Ben-Chika Uzoagu from Igbo-Ukwu in Anambra State; Sir Uzo Ibemesi from Ogidi in Anambra state; High Chief Uche Ejiogu from Ogwa in Mbaitoli Imo State; Timothy Okeke from Anambra state; Justus Elijah from Obowo in Imo State; one Henry Iwunze who lives in the USA and hails from Imo State; and Smart Ndudim Oreh (esq.) from Abam in Abia State.
Umu Ohafia: onuru zi ibeya. Let this message go to the Udumeze and to Achichi!
From my findings, I thought by now, the employers of most of the ringleaders - the Board of Segofs Energy Ltd should have by now reigned in her staff who are in the majority (5 in number out of 8 listed above) in this dispute. I want to use this opportunity to still appeal to the Police authorities to take note of the threat to our son Ukpai’s life. I want to alert my fellow Nigerians to please take notice of what is happening! Let nothing untoward happen to Ukpai I. Ukpai!
Awah O. Kalu, a public analyst and social critic wrote in from Helsinki