Over 10 People Petitioned Odok For Fraud – Raphael Odu Speaks, Mentions Ifere Paul, Asu Okang And Others

By Jonathan Ugbal

Mr. Raphael Odu who was accused by suspended University of Calabar lecturer, Mr. Joseph Odok for orchestrating alongside his alleged lover, Patience Odey, the attack on him last week Monday has denied that he knows Ms. Odey.

He also alleged that Mr. Odok has over 10 petitions against him in the department of Homeland Security bordering on admission related fraud and said that he had no knowledge of the attack on Odok who claimed Odu used Patience to set him up.

Mr. Odu who said that he heads the Operations unit in the Homeland Security department also said his job is mainly intelligence gathering and told this reporter on phone that the girl in question has been going out with Odok as well as narrated what he gathered had transpired when Odok was attacked.

“There are series of complaints here in my office about that young man. Written complaints, written petitions about Joseph Odok in the office,” Odu said and added that: “There are several others. There are also more than 10 complains in the security office. They are several complains there.”

In another conversation, Mr. Odu had said there were three complaints against Odok. “In the office there, we have written complaints and the people are physical, are visible. We have written complaints here, about three that the police have even snapped. We have people here that are ready to testify anywhere. People he has extorted money from in the pretext of doing them one favor or the other,” he said and added that people were already searching for Odok to hit him.

Odu, sources said also roped in the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Zana Akpagu, Ifere Paul and the Commissioner for Youths and Sports development, Asu Okang.

On Zana, he said that Mr. Odok has problems with so many persons and many had visited either the DSS office or the Police to give their statements and claimed that Mr. Zana went to the DSS office and gave a statement.

He said Odok’s problem was elsewhere and warned that he should not attempt to put it on him as he was going to follow it to the end even though he does not know where Odok is right now.

On Mr. Okang and Ifere, Odu said that when some Ogoja students reported to him that Odok had defrauded them with the guise of helping them secure admission, they reported the matter to him and despite requesting him to come clear his name, Odok refused and said Ifere Paul, another critic of the state policies had hired him to do whatsoever he was doing. He said Asu Okang was aware of these as he used to be a friend of Odok.

CrossRiverWatch also gathered that Odu said Odok had accused Ifere of been fraudulent and had told him that he can tell him how Ifere was “chased” out of China. He then told Odok that he was not close to Ifere but his younger brother who works with him and said Chris Abang earlier mentioned by Odok had called another Ogoja man, Thomas Abi to tell Ifere to stir clear and out of his matter.

He denied contacting Mr. Chris Abang and accused him of being Odok’s accomplice. He claimed the Police were after Mr. Abang.

“Chris Abang is one of his accomplices; he is the one that goes out to bring the market for him. According to Chris Abang, he said he used to be his lecturer in UNICAL. When we were looking for him, Chris Abang was the one that took him to Transcorp. Ask Chris Abang if you have his number,” he said.

But, Mr. Chris had told CrossRiverWatch that Mr. Odu had only asked him for Mr. Odok’s number which Odok confirmed that both of them had spoken and it was to help a friend who had issues with a SUBEB contract that led them to Transcorp hotel.

And, Mr. Odu said the meeting at Transcorp was a ploy to defraud another person. “They were in Transcorp, Chris Abang was the one that went and brought the guy. They were waiting to collect NGN400,000 from the man, but to get a NGN150,000 advance payment to write a petition.

“I don’t know the capacity to which the direction the petition comes from, I don’t know the capacity, in fact who are they to write petition. If he is a lawyer, he is supposed to have a chamber. If you want to write a petition the person is supposed to meet you in your chambers, not a bar!”

When asked the name of the person who was supposed to bring the money, he said: “Linus Ojong.”

In the report earlier mentioned, Chris Abang told CrossRiverWatch that Odu had contacted him and requested for Odok’s number and when they sat out, he said that a friend from Yala, one Emmanuel Ogar was given a job in SUBEB by a contractor and the contract had been revoked “Whereas he had been given the contract papers and the guy was in Uyo, so he needs somebody that can stand in for him.”

Abang also said that the boy who was sent to meet them at Transcorp by the said Ogar, whose name he gave as “Clement Ojong” (Odu said Linus Ojong) met him and Odok and after brief discussions, left them and despite been called several times by Odok, did not return which made them leave for his house after spending more than two hours.

Meanwhile, CrossRiverWatch also gathered that Odu said Odok alongside Chris Abang went to Transcorp and invited one Mr. James Ogar (Abang mentioned Ogar too, but as Emmanuel Ogar) to come and give him money to publish some articles for him against the state government since he’s a publisher.

He told this reporter that Joseph Odok was sitting by the pool bar at Transcorp waiting for the guy and said that if Mr. Ojong was not able to get the NGN400,000 he should bring NGN150,000 so that they can start work immediately. “They were there till 5:00PM in the evening to extort Mr. Ojong,” Odu alleged.

However, sources said that Odu had warned Abang to stay clear of Mr. Odok since they both hail from the same community; Mbube in Ogoja local government area.

Another source also said that Odu was the one that planted the said Ogar on Odok and asked him to accept that he (Ogar) will pay Odok to do a publication for him all in a bid to rope Odok in.

Odok, last week on a Facebook post had alleged that Abang was the one that gave Odu his number to set him up and dragged the state into it as he is the younger brother to the Attorney General of the state, Barrister Joe Abang.

On Patience Odey

Mr. Odu told this reporter that he did not know the principal suspect. Patience Odey from anywhere and said the lady will affirm this.

Odu who consciously avoided mentioning Ms. Odey’s name while talking with this reporter narrated the story of Ms. Odey this way:

“There is a girl that he lured that he wanted to get visa for the girl. He asked the girl to bring USD3,800 that he has a friend in Abuja that is going to do visa for that girl.

“Him and the girl have been dating. He said that if the girl allows him to sleep with her, that he was going to pay half of the money which is USD1,600 and the girl is going to pay half of the money.”

He said that Ms. Odey and Odok had sat down along Ikot Ansa when someone warned her not to deal with Odok as he was a fraudulent person which made her head to the department to lay a complain.

“She came to our office and laid a complain, official complain and that is how it was. From there, he started inviting the girl, taking the girl out. They even went to cinema!

“On Sunday he took the girl to the cinema at Marina Resort. When they came out, he was trying to feed the girl with alcohol so that the girl will be tipsy. He wanted to sleep with the girl.

“But, we knew that, we were waiting for the directives of the SSA to call the security agencies to arrest him because we report directly to the SSA.

“On Monday, it was a public holiday. I don’t know what happened, they said he called the girl and they were coming to meet at Zanzee bar but he told the girl that he is not comfortable there that he is not safe in that area. That is according to the girl statement.

“I don’t know what transpired, he went there, he did not even come out of the car. According to the people around, people saw him, passersby saw him there inside the car. He saw some group of people, he was trying to zoom his car away but they parked the car, blocked him, dragged the car with him and it fell into the gutter and the fight continued and that was all.

“He came back, because he knew I was after him, I don’t know how he got that information, he indicted me.

“I was in my office on Wednesday, when I got a call from one Mr. Duke, he said that he is the Director of the DSS. He called, I said me I am in Calabar, he said can you come down here, I now drove down there and when I went there, I couldn’t come back but it is been said that it was an assassination attempt that Joseph Odok said I am the one that planted people on him.”

When pressed to confirm that Ms. Odey laid a complaint in his office about Odok, he said that: “Not only that one, there are several others. They are also more than 10 complains in the security office. They are several complains there.”

Odu however budged and mentioned Ms. Odey’s name when asked to react to allegations that he was her lover and had used her as bait to get Odok.

On being her lover, he said that: “I am a married man, you know what intelligence gathering means. In intelligence gathering, I can set up anybody to get information.”

This reporter then asked: “Is this the case with Mr. Odok? Did you use Ms. Odey to get to him?”

He replied: “I don’t know the Patience. Patience cannot say anywhere that I am her boyfriend. It is Odok that said that he loves her.”

But, CrossRiverWatch gathered that Mr. Odu told friends a different thing as he admitted to being the one that used Ms. Odey as bait for Mr. Odok.

On Monday’s Attack On Odok

On the events of last week Monday, Odu, according to sources said the girl had booked Odok to go to Zanzee bar which Odok declined saying the area was not safe for him and asked the girl to wait that he will take her to another place.

Upon his arrival, the girl is said to have ordered food already and invited Odok to join her so that they can finish the food which he declined.

He was inside the car when he was attacked Odu is quoted as saying and when he saw his assailants whom he knew, he attempted to zoom off but unknown to him, there was someone in front who put a stick to block the vehicle which they struggled with him till it crashed into the gutter.

Odu also said that if he was there or planned the whole scene, the girl would have been gone which was not the case as she stood there trying to call for help until the DSS came.

He is also quoted as saying the DSS were passing by when they saw a crowd of people and stopped. And upon noticing what had happened, took both to their office. Odu is quoted as saying that it was the DSS that told him they were passing by.

Now, this conflicts with CrossRiverWatch findings as staff of Zanzee bar had said their manager had contacted security personnel who came and took Odok and the girl.

And, Odu, according to sources also said that he went to the DSS and had asked them to release Ms. Odey since he had planted her on Odok. He said that he should be held responsible not Ms. Odey.

This conflicts what he told this reporter that he has no knowledge of the girl and only got to know of the incident when he was invited by the state director of the DSS, Mr. Fubara Duke.

Timeline of Joseph Odok’s attack as reported by CrossRiverWatch.

• Monday September 4, 2017 – Joseph Odok is attacked
• Wednesday September 6, 2017 – CrossRiverWatch findings on Tuesday reveal attack may have been due to visa racketeering as Odok remains in custody.
• Friday September 8, 2017- DSS and Police say Odok’s attack was not an assassination attempt but an issue of fraud.
• Saturday September 9, 2017 – Facts emerge on how Homeland Security director, Raphael Odu and lover orchestrated attack.
• Sunday September 10, 2017 – Joseph Odok denies visa racketeering allegation as facts emerge principal suspect i not in custody.
• Sunday September 10, 2017 – Police disclose they have written DSS to produce principal suspect.
• Monday September 11, 2017 – CrossRiverWatch obtains details of Raphael Odu.
• Monday September 11, 2017 – Chris Abang, younger brother to Cross River State Attorney General denies involvement in Odok’s attack after being fingered by Odok on a Facebook post on Sunday.
• Tuesday September 12, 2017 – Raphael Odu gets bail as DSS hands over principal suspect, Patience Odey who is taken into Police custody.