The Afaha Idoro village in Oku Clan, Uyo presently hosting the Mobile Police Force Squadron 26 have demanded that the Akwa Ibom State Government should urgently relocate the police base out from the community.
According to a save our soul letter of appeal addressed to the member representing Uyo State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly signed on behalf of the village council by the Village Head, Eteidung Edem Joshua Udokang; the Village Chairman, Mr. Christopher Johnson Udo; and the Youth Leader, Mr. Unyimi Okon Samuel, it stated that it has become very necessary to move out the police base from the community because of the persistent clash over land encroachment.
The village council lamented that roads opened up by the village, farmlands and even sites for development have been illegally annexed by the police authorities through force of intimidation.
The village council claimed in its letter that the police base which was the former site of Oku Clan Secondary School was provided in 1989 as temporary accommodation for the police with clearly surveyed boundaries, but recently have been illegally expanded though trespass into lands owned by natives of the community.
The information stated that about a month ago the police went and planted illegal beacon survey stones to justify their attempt to seize the land owned by the community.
Furthermore, according to the report the police brought in bull dozers to destroy sites of buildings development, farmlands and during the exercise protesting villagers seen around in vicinity were beaten.
It further added that, attempts by the village council to resolve the issues of encroachment and brutal harassment of the natives who own the lands have always been resisted by the police authorities who according to the youth leader could escalate into breach of peace, law and order if allowed to continue unchecked.
The villagers claim to live in fear because of threats to shoot the indigenes who dare to protest against the conducts of the policemen. Some residents narrated that the policemen do treat natives as strangers while they act with impunity so much that even the traditional leadership of the community is not respected or recognized in attempts to ensure peaceful co-existence.
Others frowned at the social behavior of the men of the police force within the community which they claim display inappropriate sexual approach towards married women and abuse female children thereby influencing the community negatively.
Reports obtained show that no compensation was paid on the land and no secondary school was built in another site to replace the Oku Clan Secondary School whose facilities are used by the police.
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