Posted by By JOE EFFIONG, Uyo on
The sins of children and grandchildren have been visited on the parents of five suspected armed robbers in Nung Udoe community of Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
• Police zonal, state commands flex muscle over robbery case file
The sins of children and grandchildren have been visited on the parents of five suspected armed robbers in Nung Udoe community of Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
They have been summarily removed from village council pending when their wards clear themselves from the allegation of armed robbery, which the community had levelled against them and to which they had allegedly confessed.
This is, however, not the main story. What is really making the news in the area is the seeming tug-of-war between the state police command and the Zone 6 Police command in Calabar, which is trying to forcefully take over the investigation of the armed robbery from the state command to the chagrin of the community.
The muscle flexing has become so intense that the Zone 6 had to write the paramount ruler of Ibesikpo Asuta, HRM, Edidem Ita Etuk, to report to Calabar on the orders of the Inspector General of police to answer questions on the case. The community, smelling a rat in the whole drama, has written to IGP, alerting him of the attempts by some officers at Zone 6 to use their positions to block the investigation because a rich man from the area was fingered as the sponsor of the five suspects now detained at the police headquarters at Ikot Akpanabia.
In a Save Our Soul petition written to the IGP, Mr Mike Okiro, the paramount ruler, who is also the village head of Nung Udoe, said: "For about three years now, the residents of Nung Udoe have been spending sleepless nights on account of the activities of armed robbers who attack the area committing not only armed robbery, but also gang raping housewives and young girls.
"In recent months, the activities of these miscreants have increased in intensity causing many residents here to flee the area seeking refuge in Uyo, the state capital. This state of affairs has continued despite the effort of the village vigilance group and officers and men of the divisional police.
"In January this year, these bandits not only gang-raped the daughters of a local government staff, but murdered the father of their victims. Ibesikpo Asutan divisional police working in close co-operation with members of the reconstituted village council, but succeeded in arresting six of the armed robber who made confessional statements incriminating one rich man in the area. This man called Victor is the proprietor of a night club with a standby band. He is also a baker and transporter.
"Victor has since fled the area seeking sanctuary at Zone 6 police command. He has been trying to use junior police officers at the zone to transfer a straight case of of armed robbery from Akwa Ibom police command to Zone 6.
"His agent at the Zone 6 is Sgt. Augustine, who claimed he had instructions from the AIG, Zone 6, to take over the case from Akwa Ibom State police command. As a result of Victor's pranks, I sent my chiefs and councillors on March 4, 2008, to protest to the commissioner of police surrendering the case file to Sgt. Augustine."
The monarch said he was shocked when a team of policemen in mufti came to him with invitation asking for the transfer of the case on the orders of the IGP to the zonal headquarters.
He said: "Letter comes to re-emphasise our position made known to the commissioner of police not to surrender this investigation to any other command unless compelling reasons, which we do not see, to transfer this case to either Zone 6 or Force headquarters.
"Why should Victor run from pillar to post trying to knock the heads of the various commands together? Akwa Ibom State police command, under the able, efficient and effective leadership of Michael Zuokomo who understands the crime terrain of the state, is better equipped to handle this case."
Reacting to the move to take the case from his command, the Akwa Ibom CP, Mr Zuokumo, said it would be impossible to take the case away from the command since all the suspects were already in the police net.
He commended the paramount ruler for taking the initiative to tackle crime from his community, adding: "If all others were like him, then crime wave would have reduced drastically."