CLO Accuses A’Ibom Lockdown Team Of Extortion

The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Civil Liberties Organisation on Tuesday alleged that the state’s lockdown enforcement team had been extorting money from citizens and motorists.
The group in a statement by its Chairman, Franklyn Isong, said its seven-man committee set up to monitor and document human rights abuses during the period had made several observations in its weekly report to the organisation.
The statement partly reads, “In the week under review, CLO observed that the enforcement team went outside its scope of duty and best practices to extort money from motorists, especially commercial motorcyclists, such as tricycle (Keke) drivers and mini-bus drivers before allowing them passage.
“On Saturday, 4th April, 2020, at about 6.45 p.m., some Keke operators were arrested and detained by the enforcement team for over two hours at Edet Akpan Avenue (Four Lanes) by Nwaniba Road by Water Fountain.
“The Enforcement Team had demanded N1,000 from each from the drivers. It took the intervention of the CLO Special Monitoring Committee for the Keke drivers to be released with their tricycles.
“Similar incidents were also observed on the same day by the CLO monitoring committee at Utang Street, Ikpa Road and section of Ikot Ekpene Road, all in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.”
The organisation in the statement also observed that since the confirmation of the five cases of COVID-19 in the state there had been no update and no palliatives on the part of the state government.