Rep kicks as policemen kill 21-year-old in A'Ibom

Policemen in Akwa-Ibom State on Thursday shot dead a 21-year-old girl in another case of alleged abuse of weapons and intimidation of defenceless people.The girl, simply identified as Agnes, was reportedly killed in Oron Local Government Area of the state in the early hours of Thursday, throwing the entire town into a state of mourning.The member of the House of Representatives representing Oron Federal Constituency, Mr. Robison Uwak, who raised the alarm over the killing in Abuja, told journalists that the policemen had gone to the area to make an arrest, but resorted to shooting carelessly.Agnes, a 21-year-old lady living at 23B, Nduonyi Street, met with her untimely death when policemen who had come to make an arrest within the vicinity shot sporadically into the air, without recourse to the safety and sanctity of human life, the lawmaker stated.Uwak, who demanded the overhaul of the Oron Police Area Command, recalled that the indigenes of the place were constantly harassed and intimidated by policemen.Uwak said, My people are calling for the total overhaul of Aron Police Command because they can no longer trust these men to guarantee their safety and that of their property.Their concerns are heightened by the fact that this time of the year is security-sensitive and the increased levels of police impunity will further worsen the security situation.We are asking that those involved in this heinous crime be investigated and publicly prosecuted so as to ensure that civility overcomes barbarism.The lawmaker complained that rather than provide security for the people, policemen in Oron Command were endangering their lives.We must state clearly here that we are by no means under the illusion that the attitude of policemen in the Oron Area Police Command towards the indigenes will change anytime soon.For a while now they have become like the military under orders of occupancy while the ordinary man is seen as the enemy to be spared or slain without any form of provocation, Uwak said.The Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, Mr. Solomon Arase, confirmed the incident when our correspondent contacted him on the telephone.He said the policemen, who carried out the killing, had been arrested and would be dismissed on completion of investigation into the matter.The policemen are in custody and we will bring the full weight of the law against them.They will be tried and dismissed because the command has zero tolerance for corruption, the commissioner told The PUNCH.
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