Scores of operatives from the Counter Terrorism Unit of the Imo
State police command on Saturday blocked the Owerri/Orlu road in
the state capital in protest.
The operatives who were demonstrating for the second day in a
row caused traffic gridlock and panic in the area.
Shooting sporadically into the air, the demonstrators wore masks
to hide their identities and set bonfires on the high way.
Narrating their ordeal to newsmen, one of the policemen said,
“we have been pushed out of our quarters on Orlu road by the
management of Federal Medical Center, Owerri.”
“To make things worst, our commander supported the act and no
alternative place has been provided for us.”
“We moved into this place in 2015 after our quarters in Nekede
was marked for renovation. But this base 7 of CTU of Nigeria police
Force started operation in this state in 2011.”
“We have done more than enough to ensure safety and security in
this state. This is not the best way to treat us considering the
kind of work we are doing in this state.”
“As we demonstrate, our families are stranded. Bulldozers are
destroying the quarters. Our property, documents, credentials and
other personal belonging are outside.”
“We demand better treatment. We are human beings working for the
betterment of this country. We should be treated like human beings
not like animals.”
When contacted, the State Command Public Relations Officer,
Orlando Ikokwu, told our correspondent that alternative quarters
have been provided for the protesting policemen.
The command spokesperson said that the state commissioner of
police, Dasuki Galadanchi, had instructed the CTU commander to
ensure that his subordinates settled in the new quarters as quickly
as possible.
Ikokwu said that the protesting cops failed to understand that
the quarters were they were ejected from was not supposed to be
their permanent quarters.
He said that the protest would not deter the command from
fighting crimes and making the yuletide period a crime-free
one.
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