Nigeria Content Online

The Akwa Ibom State
government has mandated security agents in the state to shoot at sight
anyone taking advantage of the political tension in the state to foment
trouble.

Governor Godswill
Akpabio revealed this yesterday in Uyo as a measure to check continuing
destruction of lives and property of people owing to the PDP-ACN clash
Tuesday which left scores of people dead and massive destruction of
properties in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene.

As at press time, more than 40 people were feared dead while properties worth millions of naira destroyed.

Explaining that the
state cannot be left in the hands of criminals and political thugs, he
said, “The president has called out all security agencies to comb the
nook and cranny of the state and we have advised security agencies to
shoot at sight anybody that wishes to promote criminality in the state.
We will not condone it.

“The federal
government of Nigeria and the state government will react to the
incident of yesterday (Tuesday). The perpetrators should be worried.
Every single person involved will be brought to book, no matter the
political connotation brought to this. This is no longer politics. You
cannot go and destroy over 800 cars, 500 Keke NAPEP, burn down all
sorts of buildings in place and kill people.

“What is happening
now in Akwa Ibom State for me is an organised attack on the people of
the state to create a state of fear and a state of insecurity. This is
part of the plan. They are also trying to see if they can provoke
ethnic rivalry so that it will look as if the various ethnic groups in
the state are fighting so that they will call for a state of emergence
like what is happening in Jos. But it is a foolishness of the part of
the planners because anybody who wants to contest election to rule a
people should not kill the same people,” he noted.

Day of violence

The clash between
the two parties stared from Ikot Ekpene and spread to Uyo when
supporters of the PDP allegedly tried to stop the campaign train of the
ACN gubernatorial candidate, John James Akpanudoedehe from entering
into Ikot Ekpene.

The effect was a
clash which resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of schools
and cars in the state secretariat as well as President Jonathan’s
campaign office within the Abak and Ikot Ekpene road axis.

The chairman of the
Action Congress of Nigeria in the state, Aniekan Akpan, described the
incident as an “unprovoked attack” and noted that it left “20 of our
members’ dead, 50 wounded, vehicles of various types and motorcycles
damaged.”

New Commissioner of
Police for the state command, Felix Uyanna, who arrived in the state on
the day of the clash, said that 51 suspects had been arrested in
connection with the crime said the “modus of the criminal operation and
the nature of the targets suggest a deliberate pattern in the execution
style of the criminals”.

He stated that the police will leverage on the development in ensuring that all those involved in the problem are prosecuted.