CALABAR, CROSS RIVER — A legal practitioner, Barrister P. B. Aboh of Goldminds Legal Consult, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, demanding urgent intervention and justice for his client, Mr. Ransome Anock Ojah, who was ambushed and savagely attacked by four suspected cultists in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
In the petition, which was dated July 5, 2024 and obtained by Chronicles Reporters on Friday, July 11, 2025, the lawyer identified the suspects as Mr. Godknows Aho Amatev; Mr. Sunday Aho Amatey; Mr. Ikenga Adem Erim; Mr. Annovu Sunday Aho; and Mr. Amatey Otei Amater. The petition accuses them of attempted murder, conspiracy to kill, and the infliction of grievous bodily harm on Mr. Ransome Ojah.
According to the petition filed on behalf of the victim and a relative, Mr. Mordecai Anock Ojah, the incident occurred on July 3, 2024, when the victim was on his way to his farm and was allegedly ambushed and attacked by one of the suspects, Mr. Ikenga Adem Erim, who had reportedly been armed and commissioned to “finish him off” by the trio of Godknows, Sunday, and Otei Amatey.
The disturbing account detailed how the suspects allegedly held a planning meeting on July 2, 2024, at the residence of Mr. Godknows Aho Amatey, where it was agreed that Mr. Ikenga would carry out the attack. During this meeting, Erim was reportedly given a firearm and a machete, and was emboldened with reassurances that the group controlled the village and could manipulate the justice system.
“Mr. Godknows Aho Amatey, an employee of the Accountant-General’s Office, encouraged Ikenga, saying he earns enough money weekly to handle any fallout, stating he could use his resources to settle any matter, including with the police and courts,” the petition reads.
On the following day, July 3, the victim, unaware of the plot against him, allegedly accepted a ride from Sunday Aho Amatey. Sunday dropped him at a location where Erim was reportedly lying in wait. The ambush was swift and brutal.
“Mr. Ikenga Adem Erim shot our client at point blank range in the head and then repeatedly cut him with a machete, inflicting deep wounds on his head, face, neck, hands, and other parts of his body before leaving him for dead,” Aboh detailed.
The petition further accuses Sunday of aiding and abetting the crime, concealing Erim from law enforcement, and boasting about the group’s financial and political muscle to suppress justice.
“Godknows Amatey has stalled investigations and is believed to be shielding the suspects, including Erim, from justice,” the petition states.
Mr. Ransome Ojah, who miraculously survived the gruesome assault, remains in a critical condition at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, battling for his life one year after the attack.
The lawyer has called on the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that all the accused—Mr. Godknows Aho Amatey, Mr. Sunday Aho Amatey, Mr. Ikenga Adem Erim, Mr. Annovu Sunday Aho, and Mr. Amatey Otei Amatey—are urgently arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Despite the gravity of the crime and the formal petition submitted a year ago, sources informed Chronicles Reporters that the police have failed to act.
“The accused are using money and connections to delay justice while the victim remains in pain and trauma,” a source familiar with the matter revealed on Friday, July 11, 2025.
A court hearing on the matter has been scheduled for July 15, 2025, amid rising concerns over impunity and the influence of wealth and power in derailing justice in Nigeria.
Chronicles Reporters will continue to monitor this case as it develops.