Daily Independent Online.
*
Monday, June 14, 2004.
Ughelli residents protest insecurity
By Francis Onoiribholo
Special
Correspondent, Ughelli
Residents
of Okoradefe and Otovwievwiere quarters in Ughelli North Local Government Area
of Delta State, who fled their homes due to incessant attacks by hoodlums, have
protested the inability of the police and the government to provide security in
the area for the past four months. They registered their complaints when they
besieged the Ughelli Police Division and the office of the chairman of the
local government.
Armed
robbers have so far killed no fewer than seven persons in the area since
January this year, resulting in mass exodus of the residents.
Addressing
the protesters, the council chairman, Mr. Edirin Idisi, vowed to return peace
to the area, adding that he was abreast of their problems. The council boss
said it was painful that criminals have displaced the people, noting however
that the criminals live among them.
He
explained that in a bid to address the problem, he has held several meetings
with security operatives, stressing that very soon normalcy would return to the
turbulent area. But he blamed the upsurge in criminal activities on parents,
emphasising that children not properly brought up by parents become societal
nuisance at the end of the day.
Idisi
charged the people of the area to furnish security operatives and his office
with adequate information that could lead to the tracking down of the
criminals, assuring that all sources of information would be treated
confidentially. Similarly, the Ughelli Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Ibrahim
Mohammed, vowed to ensure that peace returned to the area, and urged the people
to cooperate with the police by providing his office with necessary information
that could help check the activities of the hoodlums.
Speaking
on behalf of the protesters, Mrs. Grace Akpode called on the council chairman
and the police to come to their aid over the menace of criminals in their area.
