A violent clash involving aggrieved motorcyclists and the Police in Eket local government area of Akwa Ibom state has left two persons allegedly dead.
The clash which was as a result of the ban on operations of motorcyclists in the area also led to the burning down of a patrol vehicle belonging to the Eket Divisional Police Station.
It was gathered that the clash started when the Police tried to enforce the ban order by the state government on motorcyclists between 6pm to 6am to check the upsurge of crime in the area.
A witness, Emman Okposin, said the police surveillance team chased away some motorcyclists who were unwilling to obey the ban order as they continued to operate beyond the stipulated period.
He said the police beat some of his colleagues and impounded their motorcycles, adding that on Sunday night, one motorcyclist was shot dead by the police while he was been chased from the road.
According to Okposin, they were forced to revolt on Tuesday when a policeman beat another motorcyclist yesterday and he collapsed on the spot before he was rushed to the hospital.
He said the victim, simply identified as Udo from Idung Udoe in the area died on Monday night while receiving treatment at Immanuel General Hospital, Eket.
He explained that the youths and all motorcyclists took the corpse of their dead colleague to Eket local government council and later to the area police station when the council chairman, Mr Frank Archibong was not available to address them.
Okposin noted that on getting to the Police station, they were prevented from entering the station and the group had to return the corpse to the mortuary.
He stated that all the motorcyclists and the youths regrouped and moved to the police checkpoint along James Town road and burnt down the police patrol vehicle as policemen at the checkpoint escaped.
“Last Sunday, our member was shot dead in the night and the corpse has been deposited in the mortuary at Immanuel General Hospital, Eket.
“Our member, Udo from Idung Udoe in Eket died last night from injuries he sustained in the hands of the police; so, we revolted,” he stated.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, confirmed the incident but said he would call our reporter back to give further details.
However, as at the time of filing this report, he was yet to get back to our reporter.
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