Gunmen Kill Akwa Ibom Motorcyclist, Escape With Bike, Phone

Gunmen suspected to be armed robbers have shot dead a yet-to-be-identified commercial motorcyclist in Ikot Ambang axis of Ibiono Ibom local government area, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

An eyewitness, Enobong Usen, who operates a retail outlet, on the Ikot Ambang portion of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Highway, explained that the incident occurred near the Community Hall at about 6:00 a.m. yesterday.

“Two armed men, cashing in on the porous security situation on the outskirts of Uyo, the state capital, trailed the deceased on a motorcycle and accosted him near the town hall.

“When confronted with a gun, he struggled with the criminals. Within split seconds, one of the assailants opened fire on the late motorcyclist, who crashed to the ground. They searched his pockets, removed the phone and other items and fled through the adjoining village routes,” he said.

A community youth leader, Comrade Ofonmbuk Udo, told LEADERSHIP that the identity of the deceased was yet to be established, while the corpse had been deposited at a private morgue in the village.

Udo said Uyo City Centre has been under a massive police presence since the onset of the Yuletide season and lamented that its outskirts have been abandoned.

“Since the beginning of the Yuletide season last year, the concentration of policemen with attendant extortion and fleecing motorists of their earnings has become sickening and nauseating.

“They create traffic snarls, so when you eventually crawl to the checkpoints, all you see are overstretched hands looking for cash as a condition to clear your movement, but the outskirts around neighbouring LGAs bordering Uyo, such as Itam in Itu LGA; Ikot Ambang in Ibiono Ibom LGA, Itak in Ikono LGA and other adjoining areas, remain unmanned,” he claimed.

The police command spokesperson, DSP Timfon John, did not respond to calls to her phone. However, sources at the nearby Itam Police Station confirmed the incident. They said operatives were tracking the fleeing suspects to bring them to justice.