Victoria Mba, mother of 22-year-old Mba Moses Onyekachi, has accused policemen attached to the residence of Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, of beating and shooting her son, leading to his death on August 9.

Onyekachi had gone to the governor’s former residence in Calabar on August 1, saying he had a divine message to deliver. Policemen on guard reportedly denied him entry and later declared him a security threat. According to his mother, the unarmed young man was brutally assaulted and shot before being abandoned in a pool of blood for hours.

“He was beaten and shot. He was left lying in a pool of blood from about 11 am until late afternoon,” Victoria told The Punch. “When he was finally taken to the Navy Hospital, the authorities seemed more concerned about covering up than saving his life.”

Onyekachi, who scored 196 in the last UTME and was preparing for university, spent days in a coma before succumbing to his injuries. His family says they struggled to pay for urgent transfusions and other treatment while security operatives allegedly kept watch around him like a criminal.

After his death, officials reportedly claimed Onyekachi was mentally ill — a narrative his family strongly rejected. “This was the boy who wrote JAMB and scored 196. They’re saying he had a mental problem? That is a lie,” his mother insisted.

The family also accused a government aide, Emmanuel Dickson, of attempting to view the body at the morgue without their consent, fuelling suspicion of a cover-up. They further alleged receiving threatening phone calls after refusing to cooperate with police invitations.

So far, the Cross River State government has not publicly addressed the matter. An autopsy ordered by the Commissioner of Police, Rashid Afegbua, is yet to be concluded.