A combined team of Army, Police, and Civil Defense took over the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly complex barring lawmakers and even staff of the assembly from accessing the facility.
Also, the State Commissioner of Police, John Abang has been redeployed and replaced with a new CP, a development some suspected is aimed at paving way for the five sacked members to take over control of the assembly.
Recall that the five members had been sacked from the assembly for defecting from the PDP whose platform they were elected to the APC.
Speaker Onofiok Luke had in compliance with the Federal High Court judgement declared the seats of the members vacant, but in swift reaction, the five were alleged to have held an illegal plenary session where Hon Nse Ntuen was allegedly elected the new factional Speaker.
Reacting to the development, the state overnment condemned the removal of the immediate past Commissioner of Police, Mr. John Abang and accused the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris of deliberately giving leveraged to thuggery.
The state’s Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Charles Udoh, in a statement lamented that the Commissioner of Police was hurriedly withdrawn from Akwa Ibom for doing his professional duty responsibly.
According to him, “Apart from the fact that the outgoing CP barely spent a month in the State, the circumstances surrounding his removal is a mockery to the nation and a contrast to the insecurity battle of the federal government.
“Why should an officer who successfully resisted the invasion of hoodlums and professionally protected an institution of government be rewarded with unceremonial removal from office? Ordinarily, such feat in other climes would have attracted promotion and commendation.
“This is a sharp pointer today the sad narrative that the force is tilting its political pendulum to favour a particular political divide.
“The danger this portends to our democracy is better imagined than seen. We are shocked to see this action from the Police that should without bias serve the interest of all.
“Sadly, the precedent the force has set now encourages anyone to take laws into his hand ostensibly because the power from “above” is strong enough to shield the culprit.”
