Motorists Lament Police Extortion, Vandalism Of Vehicles At Checkpoints

Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital has come under heavy security siege at peace time in what the commissioner of police (CP), Baba Azare, said was a necessary action to keep criminal elements at bay.

But checks by LEADERSHIP revealed that the Uyo metropolis had become so chocked by the men in black, creating an atmosphere of unease, as the transporters face routine harassment and extortion at several checkpoints in Uyo

Capital Development Authority (UCCDA), covering the peripheral local government areas of Uyo, Abak, Ibesikpo Asutan and Uruan.

Although organised crimes, especially armed robbery, kidnapping and cultism have reduced within the capital, it was gathered that petty security breaches still thrive in local communities heavily underpoliced as most personnel concentration are in the capital.

“Akwa Ibom has barely 4,000 police strength, and most are concentrated on the capital, Uyo, leaving the remaining 30 local government areas grossly underpoliced, thereby giving more room for the criminal elements to rove with reckless abandon,” a retired officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity stated.

However, more worrisome to the commercial and other motorists including mini bus drivers, tricyclists and taxi operators, according to them, is the overbearing disposition to security management by the officers at various checkpoints, which they described as “too physical,” as opposed to the much vaunted intelligence – led policing slogan of the State Command.

Along the stretch of Abak Road from the Ibom plaza roundabout to the Ikot Ekpeyak Ikono portion, heavy concentration of policemen could be noticed hanging near driver side of buses and tricycles, negotiating for handouts.

“The next moment, the overstretched line is cleared after “settlement”, whether the papers are genuine, complete or non at all,” Effiong UdoAbasi, a spare parts dealer, who commutes between Abak LGA and the mechanic village along Abak Road, noted.

“This is what we see and experience every day. Each time you pass whether day time or night hours, you must part with something for the Police, otherwise they would note and mark your vehicle for vandalisation,” Etim Ekpe Okwong, a commercial mini bus driver lamented.

According to him, from the terminal at Ibom Plaza to Abak, a short distance of about 10 minutes, no fewer than eight checkpoints have been erected, adding that the toll points could be increased to 15.

Similar number, checks revealed, also dots Aka – Nnung Udoe road, Ikot Ekpene road, Nwaniba road, Oron road and others connecting the capital, Uyo.

A bloody violence was averted near the two close checkpoints near the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), on Saturday, October 24th, when one of the overzealous Police officers used the nozzle of an AK – 47 riffle bought for him by the federal government to protect the innocent and defenceless civilians to smash the back windscreen of a mini bus for refusing to stop and settle, our Correspondent learnt.

The shout and cry of the young man, “officer, wetin I do you that you used your gun to break my back glass?” fell on deaf ears.

Having used the bus to block the road with accompanying heavy traffic snarl, the offensive policeman, with his hands still on the trigger, according to witnesses, was forced, assisted by his colleagues, to push the bus to the side for the long queue to recede.

Also, along the same Abak Road, a seven – year – old was shot and fatally wounded by a trigger – happy bribe – taking officer at a checkpoint.

The sad incident, according to witnesses, occurred at a security blockade along Abak Road on Friday, September 11, when a car ferrying a family home was flagged down for a stop – and – search routine, but a brawl ensued allegedly over bribe demand.

“There was an intense argument and disagreement that escalated into an unwarranted pulling of the trigger against the defenceless civilians by the officer which sadly injured the child,” a bystander recalled, and called for “a strict disciplinary action against security personnel in the habit of turning the same guns released to them for civil protection against the same people they are paid to protect at a slightest provocation.”

However, CP Azare, had vowed “thorough and impartial investigation into the incident,” explaining that a personnel of the Quick Response Squad (QRS), involved in the dastardly act against a family has already been seized and detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), awaiting investigation and prosecution.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Timfon John, who also expressed dismay at the sad incident, explained that her boss CP Azare, had since swung into action, ordering the immediate arrest and detention of the Police suspect for proper investigation and subsequent prosecution.

“Preliminary information available to the Command indicates that at about 21:30hrs, Police personnel conducting a routine stop-and-search operation along Abak Road stopped a vehicle conveying members of a family.

“It was alleged that during the encounter, a smoke pistol was discharged by one of the officers, resulting in an injury to the left hand of a seven-year-old boy who was inside the vehicle.

“Immediately the incident was brought to the attention of the Commissioner of Police, he directed that the officer allegedly involved, one Inspector Monday Okonta, be identified, disarmed and detained at the SCID, Uyo, pending the outcome of a comprehensive investigation,” she stated.

According to the Police Spokesperson, who appealed for calm, the CP’s intervention was a demonstration of the seriousness with which the Command views the incident.

Though the distraught parents and sympathizers were praying for the boy to be revived, DSP John, disclosed that her boss, CP Azare, had personally visited the injured child at the hospital, where he interacted with the family, assessed the condition of the child and assured them that the matter would be thoroughly investigated, adding that “the child is presently in stable condition and responding to treatment.”

“CP Azare expressed concern over the incident and assured the family of the injured child that the Command would establish the full circumstances surrounding the matter.

“The Commissioner of Police reiterated that while officers of the Command will continue to discharge their lawful duties of crime prevention, stop-and-search and protection of lives and property, such duties must at all times be carried out with the highest level of professionalism, restraint, responsibility and respect for the safety and rights of members of the public,” DSP John informed.