The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has confirmed the deaths of four people in the communal clash between Amazaba community in Eastern Obolo and their neighbours in the state’s Ikot Akpan Udo Local Government Area.
This is due to the fact that it sent a tactical force of roughly 300 policemen into the rival neighbourhoods in order to control and put an end to the unrest.
In an interview with reporters on Saturday, the command’s public relations officer, Odiko Macdon, said that the commissioner of police, Olatoye Durusinmi, had also urged pertinent state and non-state players to step up their coordination to address the problem.
According to reports, the Amazaba and Eastern Obolo crises started in 2008 and led to the willful destruction of people’s lives and property as well as the eviction of thousands of people from the fighting areas.
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Since then, attempts to end the problem by succeeding administrations have had little to no success.
As a result of sporadic disruptions of the peace initiatives by the warring communities, Governor Udom Emmanuel’s efforts to end the long-running crisis and resettle the displaced people by forming a White Paper Implementation Committee led by the Commissioner of Health, Prof. Augustine Umoh, had experienced several setbacks.
Macdon said, “The crisis in Amazaba community in Eastern Obolo and Ikot Akpan Udo of Ette clan in Ikot Abasi local government has led to the lives of four persons. We have mobilised about 300 policemen to the places, there are heavy deployments
“Furthermore, the Command is sparing no resources in restoring normalcy, the CP has called on those concerned to give peace a chance. He has further called on relevant state and non-state Actors to intensify their interface to restore peace”
