The family of Moses Mba, 21, allegedly shot and killed by aides attached to the governor’s residence in Calabar, is demanding N950 million for the alleged killing and has filed a suit at Federal High Court in Calabar.
Stephen Mba, father of the deceased, in suit no. FHC/CA/FHR/79/2025 filed in the court by O. R. Ogboaka, Okon Efut (SAN) and Associate, counsel to the family, in an originating motion filed on October 10, 2025 applicant, joined Victor Edet, Police Service Commission, Commissioner of Police, the state Chief Security Officer, and state governor, Bassey Otu as respondents.
First, Mba is insisting in legal documents, sighted by www.calitown.com, that the torture, assault and the murder of the deceased was unlawful, unwarranted, flagrant abuse and executive recklessness against the deceased.
The second order demanded N950 million against the respondents as exemplary and aggravated damages in favour of the applicant.
In addition, the deceased father explained that the amount demanded would be for general damages including the torture, murder and wanton violation of the deceased’s fundamental rights.
The applicant, in the motion, concluded saying, ‘’any such other order as the court may deem fit in the circumstance.’’
Victoria Mba, mother of deceased, had alleged that her son was beaten and shot by the security operatives attached to the governor’s residence on August 1, 2025 and demanded justice for her deceased son.
Late Moses, she explained, died on August 9, 2025, at the Naval Reference Hospital in Calabar, following injuries sustained from being beaten and a gunshot. Her son, she further maintained, was beaten, shot, and left in his pool of blood right in front of the governor’s residence.
“We (my husband and I) were actually away in Abia State when the incident occurred. We got a call same day from an official of the Red Cross Society that rushed him to the hospital. Upon our arrival at the hospital, we sought to find out from our son what led to the beating and subsequent shooting.”
“According to him, he only requested to see the governor and that he had a message for him from God.’’
Mba, who claimed that she was not excusing her son from claiming to have a message for the governor, said that the late Moses had the gift of prophecy, manifested at the age of 10.
She further claimed that her son was beaten and shot as he insisted on seeing the governor and was left on his own without assistance from those who caused him harm.
“It was the Red Cross that rushed him to the hospital as he was bleeding profusely from the gunshot injury. They also paid the sum of N1.3 million, aside from other medical bills paid to operate on him,” she stated.
It was again noted that all through the period her son was hospitalised, security operatives from the governor’s office were at the boy’s hospital bed mounting surveillance and changed duty beat three times a day.
She placed on record that one of the aides to the governor’s Chief of Staff, Emmanuel Dickson, was in touch with them and was also coming around the hospital.
Dickson, according to her, demanded a copy of all the receipts generated for her son’s treatments, just as the same was given to the Red Cross that footed the hospital bills.
“When my son passed on, on Saturday, August 9, I called the same Dickson to inform him that the mortuary bill was N54,000 plus, but he sent us N50,000.’’
Mba further noted that few days after depositing the body at the morgue, some persons, led by the state’s Commissioner of Police were at the morgue to see her son’s corpse. The CP was however unable to access the corpse, after the family left instructions that the corpse should not be released for viewing.
She alleged threats to the family from suspected government agents, who are saying “… all I need is money, and that N3 million will keep me quiet. Nigerians should please help me, I want justice for my son, who is still in the mortuary,” she said.
The state government had expressly condemned the beating and the shooting to death of Moses, but Erasmus Ekpang, state Commissioner for Information, however, exonerated the governor’s security aides, alleging that the boy was mentally unstable and that the house he went to was actually the governor’s former residence.
According to Ekpang, “there is video evidence that the boy was throwing big stones at the policeman. He was not mentally okay and, at a point, had to apologise for throwing stones. Inspite of this, we condemn the beating and shooting of the boy. It is not something that we should be happy about, no matter what.”
Similarly, the Commissioner of Police, CP Rasheed Afegbua, said the matter was before the DPP for advice. “Whatever the DPP advises, we will follow,” he stated.
