Rampaging youths protesting incessant harassments and extortions by military personnel have reportedly razed five military vehicles in angry reprisal following the gruesome murder of a youth activist by a soldier in Akwa Ibom State.
The incident, LEADERSHIP learnt, happened in the early hours of Wednesday in Ete, a coastal oil-bearing community of Ikot Abasi local government area of the State.
According to a resident, Effiong Ekwere, the soldiers attached to Sterling Global, an oil firm, were chasing a diesel-bearing truck allegedly for extortion, an action that infuriated the angry youths, who engaged one of them in a duel with the intent to disarm him.
The officer was said to have shot at the victim to scare and free himself from the mob, resulting in his instant death, thereby escalating the violence.
The Ete, Ikot Abasi portion of the East-West Road, sources said, was blocked for several hours, forcing vehicles and passengers coming into and out of Akwa Ibom State to and fro the neighbouring Rivers State, to be stranded.
“There’s crisis in Ete in Ikot Abasi LGA, an Army man that was on official duty at the Sterling Global company shot one of the community boys dead today, and they had shot another person dead as at last week.
“As a result of that, the community has now risen to tell them that enough is enough. That they should concentrate on doing their official duty at the company and leave the innocent citizens to be.
“For this, and other atrocious behaviours of the Army in the community, the youths set five of their trucks ablaze, including one bus and a Hilux van. Please, we are waiting for peace talk and government intervention on the issue,” the resident told our Correspondent.
Military sources from the 2 Brigade headquarters, Uyo, confirmed the incident, saying “the matter is already under control.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Timfon John, also confirmed the development, saying the officer had been hospitalised and the remains of the victim deposited in the morgue, as investigations continued.
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