Victoria Mba, mother of 22-year-old Moses Mba, says she has rejected an N5 million offer after her son was allegedly shot and killed by police officers guarding the residence of Cross River State governor, Bassey Otu.
Moses, her first son, was shot on August 1 in Calabar after he attempted to see the governor, claiming he had a message from God.
According to his mother, security operatives accosted him at the gate, beat him, and shot him in the leg. He died eight days later at the Naval Reference Hospital.
Speaking to Punch, Victoria alleged that government representatives visited her home on Thursday with N5 million.
“They brought N5m. We rejected it. Is the value of my son’s life N5m? They said it was a condolence visit, but I don’t know where condolence is done with money in that way. I want justice, not money,” she said.
She further accused security operatives of trying to cover up the killing, claiming plainclothes officers monitored her son’s hospital ward until his death.
The family, she added, has demanded an autopsy.
“They think we are stupid. They think they can silence me with money. My son was my first child, my pride, the one his siblings looked up to. They have taken him away and tried to cover it up. I will not be silenced,” she said, calling for the arrest of all the officers involved.
Victoria told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on August 30 that she and her husband were in Abia State when the incident happened, and that they were informed by an official of the Red Cross Society that their son had been rushed to hospital.
The Cross River government has denied the allegations.
Erasmus Ekpang, the state’s commissioner for information, told NAN that the incident did not occur at the governor’s official residence but at his “former house.”
He also alleged that Moses had mental health challenges and had thrown stones at a police officer before he was shot.
