Akwa Ibom State Police command has given reasons why raids are being carried out at suspected criminals’ hideouts within Uyo metropolis and the adjourning communities.
Denying that the police are not carrying out mass arrest in Uyo or any part of the state, the command said that only suspected black spots were being targeted.
Odiko Macdon, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command, in a statement, said:
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“Raiding is a security strategy targeted at keeping criminal elements at bay. It has yielded a lot of positive successes.”
According to him, “It is like taking the fight to the criminals rather than waiting for them to plan and execute their nefarious acts.”
Macdon added however, that, “raiding should be coordinated in a way that does not affect innocent residents but should inconvenience only the criminals.
“Immediately after raiding, the Police officers are expected to screen those arrested and sift the criminally-minded from the good citizens and the good citizens should be allowed to go.
“Raiding should not be targeted at extorting from the people. Where a person is about to be or is being or has been extorted, the person quickly call the Command Complaint Response Unit, created by the Commissioner of Police (CP) Waheed Ayilara and report same for prompt action.”
Noting that the CP is committed to the general safety of the people with professionalism as a guiding principle, he said more of the raids should be expected while soliciting understanding and cooperation from the people.
Checks have shown an increase in reported cases of criminals snatching phones and other valuables from people who boarded tricycles within the city centre.
One of such victims was a fresh student of the University of Uyo, Okon James, who was robbed of his phone in broad daylight while returning from his matriculation last Friday.
Narrating his ordeal, he said two men riding in a tricycle snatched his phone from him as he was walking home along Atiku Abubakar Way in Uyo, adding that the criminals pulled something that looked like a gun before collecting his phone.
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He lamented that all the pictures of his matriculation which were stored in the phone were gone after the criminals took away his phone.
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