Police Arrest 10 For Alleged Involvement In Akwa Ibom Violence

Eniola Olayemi

kwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested 10 persons alleged to be involved in the burning of 11 buses close to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Obot Akara Local Government Area of the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Mcdon, paraded the suspects on Tuesday on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Bashiru Makama, at the police headquarters in Uyo, the state capital.

He said the suspects committed the offence on Friday, hours before INEC announced the postponement of the general elections.

The command’s spokesman disclosed that weapons recovered from the suspects included two locally-made shotguns, 25 live cartridges, substances suspected to be Indian hemp, two machetes, and charms among others.

According to him, the suspects will be transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

Mcdon urged politicians to abide by the rules and advise their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully during the elections.

He also revealed that the police seized 179 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and 27 temporary voter cards in two different operations.

The command’s spokesman added that 41 people claiming to be elections observers with no proof of their claim were arrested by the police.

He denied reports that 400 political thugs were arrested in the state, noting that only 20 persons were arrested, and they had not yet been linked to any political party.

Mcdon said the police in the state were non-partisan and would act professionally at all times, as well as remain neutral and committed to free, fair and credible elections in line with international best practice.

He called on political stakeholders in the state to play the game according to the rules.