By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
A Calabar-based human rights lawyer, Ntufam Mba Ukweni, SAN, has given a one-week ultimatum to the Cross River State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ededem Ani, to retract a statement he made against him or be prepared to face legal action.
This was a fallout of the inauguration of a taskforce committee by Ukweni’s law firm to enforce a court order regarding the government-owned Cocoa Estate in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The Cross River Attorney General had on March 12, 2026, in a Public Notice titled ‘Re: Constitution of Illegal Taskforce by Mba Ukweni, SAN to Enforce a Court Order in Respect of Etung Cocoa Estate’ described Ukweni’s action as illegal, alleging that Ukweni had no power to inaugurate the taskforce committee.
But in a swift reaction, Ukweni stated, “I am giving them a seven-day ultimatum to retract the statement and apologize to me. If he doesn’t, it means he’s not honest with whatever discussions they’re going to have with me.”
Giving insight to why the taskforce committee that was made of farmers with like minds called ‘Team Obey Court Order’ was inaugurated, Ukweni said, “The farmers were united to protect themselves from violent individuals who used to attack them in their farms.”
He cited a case where one of the farmers was killed while working in the farm he rented from the government-owned cocoa estate and the killers were yet to be prosecuted, emphasizing that he inaugurated the taskforce to enable the farmers work together as a team to scare their killers from launching attacks on them.
Ukweni emphasized that the government cannot collect money from allottees and then chase them away from their farms.
He said, “It’s never done anywhere in the world.”
“The court had earlier restrained the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice from evicting allottees from their farms, as they had legitimately paid money into the state government’s coffers.”
Ukweni’s law firm inaugurated the ‘Team Obey Court Order’ taskforce to look into activities of individuals disobeying the court order.
In his response to the Attorney General ‘s statement which described the inaugurated taskforce committee as illegal, Ukweni said, “First, the Attorney General should withdraw this notice, that’s my first condition, with an apology. What I mean is he should retract this statement.”
Ukweni stressed that as the Attorney General, it’s his duty to obey the court order, adding, “He’s a party in that case, and having acknowledged that there’s was an order of court, which he’s fought severally to upturn, he has a duty to obey.”
Ukweni, who claimed he is the chairman of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA’s National Sub Committee on Public Interest Litigation and Development Law urged the state Attorney General to advise those concerned not to violate the order of the court.
He added, “The order is not an interim order; it’s an interlocutory order pending the determination of the case. Until the case is determined, that order has to be obeyed.”
Warning that if the state Attorney General doesn’t meet the two conditions, “there will be no basis for any discussion, we’ll react.”
Ukweni further stated, “If we react, whoever is bruised by our reaction, the blame should be on him, because he knows what to do.
“I mean the Attorney General, who I know is a lawyer and knows exactly what to do.”
He maintained that he would report to the governor if the Attorney General doesn’t advise those pushing him not to obey the court order.
Ukweni concluded that the Attorney General’s failure to retract the statement and apologize would lead to consequences.
He warned that his law firm is ready to take necessary actions to protect their clients’ interests and uphold the rule of law, stressing that both the Attorney General and himself once took an oath to protect law and order, advising the Attorney-General not to allow himself to be used by politicians to violate the law.
