John Akpanudoedehe, a former senator and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, has called for the resignation of Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, following a protest by the Ekid people on Monday against Mr Eno’s “poor” handling of the dispute over the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
Ibeno and Ekid people are contesting ownership of the forest reserve, while the Akwa Ibom State Government insists it has taken ownership.
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The police recently arrested and arraigned an Ekid princess, God’sown Monday Udoito, on Mr Eno’s order, for allegedly defaming the governor over the disputed forest reserve. Ms Udoito reportedly accused the governor of selling off parts of the forest to private companies and misappropriating the proceeds. The court remanded her to Uyo prison.
“You can’t be acting as a dictator in a democracy,” Mr Akpanudoedehe, a former national secretary of the All Progressives Congress, said of Mr Eno’s handling of the dispute with the Ekid people over the forest reserve.
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“The governor has to treat Ekid people with respect by negotiating with them and not to intimidate and arrest people for defending what is theirs.
“If you didn’t arrest your daughter, who accused you of killing their mother, why would you arrest a woman who is only defending their ancestral land? I think the governor should resign from office if he cannot tolerate dissenting opinions,” Mr Akpanudoedehe told our reporter on Sunday night.
The former senator said as an opposition leader in Akwa Ibom he owes the people a duty to speak up when the government is acting “wrongly”.
He demanded that the governor drop charges against Ms Udoito and release her immediately from detention.
The Akwa Ibom State Government has not yet reacted to the call for the governor’s resignation.
Protest in Eket
Some youths in Eket on Monday defied the police warning and staged a protest against Governor Eno’s handling of the dispute over the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve.
The protesters, a handful of them, gathered by the Eket Stadium, displaying placards and calling on the state government to release Ms Udoito.
The youths, under the aegis of Unified Youths of Ekid Nation, accused Mr Eno’s administration of secretly selling parts of the forest reserve to private interests without the consent of the Ekid people.
Iboro Imose, their spokesperson, vowed that the Ekid people will not succumb to intimidation and arrest. “You cannot take what belongs to us and you expect us to keep silent,” Mr Imose said.
The Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, Baba Azare, on Sunday, said the matter is already before a court of competent jurisdiction and cautioned against “any attempt to influence or intimidate” the judicial process through protests or other unlawful conduct.
Mr Azare said arrests and prosecutions are carried out strictly within the confines of the law and only after due investigation, stressing that the police do not act arbitrarily.
While recognising citizens’ constitutional rights to lawful expression and peaceful assembly, the police warned that it would not tolerate threats or acts of nude protests, unlawful occupation of public or private facilities, disruption of government or economic activities, or any conduct capable of breaching public peace, safety, or morality.
“Any individual or group that engages in or attempts such acts will be promptly arrested and prosecuted in line with the law,” the police said.
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