What Role For Akwa Ibom Citizens In Fighting Crime?

Ubong Chuks Etukudo, who just got married, ought to be on honeymoon with his heartthrob but that cannot be for now!

   He has to attend to his younger brother, Samuel, who was shot and seriously wounded in a gun attack recently on the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road.

While Samuel recuperates at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), Uyo, the burden on Ubong is heavy, tasking and traumatic.

Other occupants of Samuel’s car on that fateful day were abducted during the assault and the kidnappers had demanded a ransom ofN15 million.

Such incidents of violence have become  commonplace in different parts of the federation, especially within the South-South and South-East geo-political zones.

Apparently bothered by the increased rate of violent crimes in Akwa Ibom, the State Command of the Nigeria Police recently organised a stakeholders’ forum in Uyo, where participants sought to explore solutions to the scourge in the area.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone Six, Mr Felix Ogbaudu, said that the country was passing through a difficult time.

According to him, “ the country is experiencing a culture of arrogance, indiscipline, laziness, unhealthy competition, ‘get-rich-quick’ syndrome, moral decadence, money politics and violence, among others”.

To underscore the importance of the consultation, the state’s Police Commissioner, Mr Walter Rugbere, said that;the forum would be replicated in all the senatorial districts of the state.

The command also distributed widely, the current telephone directory of top officers in the command to facilitate contacts in times of emergencies.

Concemed citizens in Akwa Ibom.have noted that the list of victims of violent crimes, such as kidnapping, armed robbery and politically motivated killings, among others, is endless.

They recalled recent victims as a former Director-General of the NYSC, Edet Akpan, who was abducted during a church service; Mr Iniekong Udonwa, a gubernatorial aspirant, as well as a group of Christian worshippers, who were returning from their church’s national convention in Lagos.

Many contributors at the forum suggested ways to enhance security in the state. Citizens’ participation in crime fighting came to the fore.

Bishop Josephine Eggah, the founder of New Birth Bible Church, Uyo, said that “men and women are not doing the right thing, that is why violence thrives”.

Stressing the need for citizens to play their own roles, Eggah added that parents should live exemplary lives, so as to be worthy examples to their children.

She said that most societal deviants as armed robbers and kidnappers were usually offsprings of illicit love affairs involving men and women.

Eggah counselled those in authority at different levels to shun bribery and other forms of corruption, so as to raise moral standards in the society.

“Those in offices and are taking bribes; those lecturers indulging in sexual harassment of female students should drop those bad habits and pray for forgiveness,” she pleaded.

“Some of the ugly experiences in life are caused by disobedience and nonchalant attitude of those who should rise up to fight the evils.

“Husbands and wives should be faithful in their marital homes, while they should always pray for their children, as a starting point.

“Parents should show good examples; those in authority should behave well, then crimes .will stop,” Eggah said.

Mrs Cecilia Okon, who is a schoolteacher and a trader in Uyo, was a victim of an armed robbery attack recently. She lost all her capital in the process and till date, the memory traumatizses her.

She said that she was happy with the concerns expressed by the federal government over the high crime rate in the area and the attendant measures being put in place to curtail it.

“Please let the government extend the security patrols to all highways in this area to help all regular travellers on the routes,” Okon pleaded.

Ogbaudu pointed out that community policing held the ace to crime fighting but lamented, “the elders are no longer respected or regarded as role models”.

“The Police cannot do it all alone; the royal fathers, community leaders, youth leaders and women leaders must give the Police all required information,” Ogbaudu pleads.

He assured that any information given to the Police would be treated in utmost confidence.

The Chief Medical Director UUTH, Prof. Etete Peters, noted the high incidents of gun shot injuries treated at the hospital, describing them as worrisome and alarming.

He appealed for assistance from public-spirited individuals, organisations and government agencies, to enable the hospital to cope with the increase.

The police commissioner said that his command had also had its share of adversity from violent crime, as it lost 10 officers to kidnappers and armed robbers in recent times.

Bassey writes for NAN

Bassey Bassey