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Joe Effiong, Uyo
The ban on commercial motorcycle business in several towns in Akwa Ibom State has continued to generate violent clashes between the cyclists and the police leading to the death of two cyclists in Eket.
The two cyclists were allegedly killed in the oil-rich coastal town between Sunday and Monday causing the aggrieved cyclists to set a police patrol van ablaze.
But the police command in the state has denied knowledge of any death even as it admitted arresting 19 cyclists in connection with the burnt patrol van, said to have had an engine problem and abandoned.
The ban was instituted by the state government and the police authorities in Eket were said to have used several means to enforce it between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am to check an upsurge in crime in the area, an order the cyclists were said to have rejected and flouted by operating beyond the stipulated period
One of the aggrieved cyclists Okposin Emmanuel, told the press that the police surveillance team had capitalised on the ban to witch hunt them as early 5:30pm by beating them and impounding their motorcycles.
“Last Sunday, they shot dead one of our colleagues in the night and the corpse has been deposited in the mortuary at Immanuel General hospital, Eket,” Emmanuel said.
He attributed the Tuesday revolt to the death of another their colleague, identified simply as Udo, from Idung Udoe whom a policeman allegedly beat on Monday to comma and later died in the same Immanuel Hospital, Eket.
“Our member, Udo from Idung Udoe in Eket died last night from injuries he sustained in the hands of a policeman; so we revolted.”
He said the youths and all motorcyclists operators had taken the corpse to Eket local government council and later to the area police station as the council chairman Frank Archibong, was not available to address them.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Office (PPRO), Odiko McDon (DSP) said the restriction order was from the state government as a strategy to check cultism and all forms of criminality in the area.
McDon who denied knowledge of the death of any cyclist in connection with the police while trying to enforce the restriction order; but he vowed that police would stop at nothing at ensuring that the order, which helped to checkmate criminality in Ikot Ekpene was implemented to the letter in Eket
“They raised down our Volvo that had a mechanical fault and we have arrested 19 persons in connection with that. We are certain that lots of criminal activities would be curtailed in the area if bike men are restricted within these hours,” he said.
