Dust raised by the arrest and arraignment of High Chief Effiong Eso Ononokpono by Chief Godswill Akpabio is yet to rest as groups within and outside Oro nation are threatening fire should the former lawmaker be subjected to further intimidation and harassment.

Chief Ononokpono was arrested Thursday, March 25 and arraigned in Magistrate's Court 1 presided over by Magistrate Edet Obot the following day on grounds of defamation of character of Gov. Akpabio through a paid advertorial in the Nation Newspaper of Thursday March, 25th 2010.

The advertorial is alleged to have caused alarm and tension in the State as well as bringing public hatred to the Governor.
But in a swift reaction, a group of Oro elders and youths under the aegis of Oro Nations Forum condemned the arrest and urged the state government to work towards immediate release of Chief Onokpono or risk their anger which according to them will be shown in open detest and hatred to his government and his second term ambition. According to the group, who spoke at Oron on Saturday through its coordinator, Chief Edet Eyongette, democracy cannot survive if responsible individuals fail to hold the government accountable on problems threatening the peace and development of the society.

They said the arrest of the former lawmaker was to “disintegrate Oro nation especially as the general election was drawing closer. This is what is happening to the Ibibio, it is a divide and rule antics which has been adopted by this government at several instances. Regrettably, our sons in government are agents of destabilization. There is no way they would have condescended to being used by the government to victimize our people here in Oro nation.

You know the Attorney general is our son and is now used in a suit against a father and senior citizen of Oro nation on a flimsy pretence. Pastor Oyong is equally not able to advise the governor to tolerate Chief Ononokpono's advice…but at the end we shall tell them that politics is not a platform to ride on the elders because most of us have been there”,
Read more @ http://globalconcord.com/onokpono.html