People in Ikot Isong Village are Scared Because of Police

The people living in Ikot Isong village in Akwa Ibom State are scared. This is because police officers are coming to their village a lot after a woman died in a prayer house.

What Happened in the Village?

About a week ago, police started arresting many people in the village. Now, many villagers are hiding. The leaders of three clans and a person who runs a morgue were taken by the police.

Why Did the Police Come?

A woman, who wasn’t feeling well mentally and came from another place, visited a spiritual healer in Ikot Isong. A few days later, she died there. Her children found out and told the village head, an old man named Chief Maurice Isaiah Ikpat. He told them to report this to the police.

But things got worse because the spiritual healer told the police that village youths had beaten the woman.

Police Actions at Night

One night, police officers came to Chief Maurice’s house and questioned some village leaders. Later, they came back disguised and arrested more people. Sometimes, they broke into homes by smashing doors or windows.

For example, at Udo Edmund’s house, they even beat his wife, took her, and arrested their child around 1am.

Villagers like Akpan Obong say they are very scared because the police mostly come at night, like robbers, to beat and take people away.

Villagers’ Concerns

Another villager said that the police released the spiritual healer but now want the villagers to pay N600,000 to release the other people they arrested.

What the Police Say

The state Commissioner of Police, CP Waheed Ayilara, said they are still looking into the matter. They promise to be fair and will release anyone who didn’t do anything wrong after their investigation.

He assured everyone by saying, “We still need time to handle the investigation. Since there’s a question of human rights, we will deal with it lawfully even if there are different stories about what happened.”