Police to take action on 22-year-old man shot at governor’s residence

Police authorities say an autopsy will be carried out on the body of 22-year-old Moses Mba, who died after being shot at the residence of Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State.

The state Commissioner of Police, Rashid Afegbua, confirmed the move in an interview on Saturday, explaining that investigators want to determine the precise cause of death.

Afegbua, who oversees the police command in Cross River where the incident occurred, said the shooting happened at the residence of Governor Bassey Otu.

He noted: “Yes, shooting may be involved, but we need to know what caused the death. We have concluded plans to carry out an autopsy, we need to ascertain if he really died of gun shot injury. The outcome will be made public.”

Mba was reportedly shot in the leg on August 1 by an officer posted to the governor’s residence. His mother, Mrs. Victoria Mba, told reporters that her son passed away on August 9 at the Naval Reference Hospital in Calabar, after battling complications from the gunshot injury.

“He was beaten, shot, and left on his own right in front of the governor’s residence. It was an official of the Red Cross Society that rushed him to the hospital,” she said. “Before his death, he told me and my husband that he only requested to see the governor, and that he had a message for him from God. We are calling for justice to be done, nobody has the right to take the life of another person, so justice should be done on this matter.”

Reacting to the development, the state Commissioner for Information, Erasmus Ekpang, described the late Mba as “not mentally balanced.” He further clarified that “the place the boy visited is not the governor’s current residence.”