51 suspects arrested over Uyo violence •Akpabio vows to bring perpetrators to book

Posted by admin Akwa Ibom, State News Thursday, March 24th, 2011

THE Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, Felix Uyanna, on Wednesday, told journalists that about 51 suspects had been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s political violence in Uyo.

Uyanna listed some of the property destroyed to include, the presidential campaign office of Goodluck/Sambo, situated on Abak road, which was set ablaze. Also set ablaze, according to the police record, were 127 Peugeot 307 saloon cars and 157 Keke NAPEP tricycles belonging to the Akwa Ibom State government.

They were parked in the state secretariat complex for the planned mass transit scheme of government.

A private property valued at over N100 million located in Uyo, belonging to Senator Aloysius Etuk of the PDP, representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, was also destroyed in the mayhem.

The commissioner of police warned that intelligence reports at their disposal had revealed that the days ahead might even be more challenging, adding that “in this regard, I want to request all political parties, politicians, candidates, sympathisers to play by the rules otherwise they will have themselves to blame.”

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), whose members had been accused for the reprisal attack in the state capital, in a press conference on Wednesday, traded blame with the PDP and also accused the security agencies operating in the state of being partisan.

According to Chief Anie-kan Akpan, the state chairman of ACN, the police had rejected several applications they had made for security coverage for their campaigns.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Chief Godswill Akpa-bio, has berated Tuesday’s violence in the state, which led to the death of about eight people and loss of properties worth millions of naira in Ikot Ekpene and Uyo.

He said the state was still appraising the human and material loss in the “unprovoked attack.”

Governor Akpabio, speaking during a state broadcast, flayed the attack which, he said, was visited on the state by miscreants from outside the state, who were believed to be supporters of the ACN, adding that many government assets were lost in the attack.

-Guardianwp_posts