13 per cent oil derivation: Police disperse protesting Akwa Ibom youths with tear gas

 Youths from Akwa Ibom State protesting the share of five per cent of the total 13 per cent oil derivation to the state, were dispersed with teargas on Tuesday.

The youths, under the auspices of Ibom Youths Congress, dressed in white and black attires, sang war songs and matched through major streets of the state metropolis to Government House to present their request to the governor, Pastor Umo Eno.

It was gathered that the police officers maning the Uyo Police Area Command, near the Government House, launched several canisters of tear gas, leading to pandemonium.

Addressing the protest before the forceful dispersal, Comrade Victor Bassey James, Secretary of the Niger Delta Movement (NDM), lamented that the youths have not been empowered, demanding that they be given five percent out of the 13 percent oil derivation.

While suing for peace, CP Durosinmi; the Commander of the 2 Brigade of the Nigeria Army, his NSCDC counterpart and the Commissioner in Charge of Internal Security in the state, and other concerned authorities, appealed for calm, urging them to retire home, assuring that Governor Uno Eno would address their grievances at the appropriate time.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Odiko MacDon, explained that the teargas incident was borne out of the need to stop hoodlums trying to invade Government House from taking the laws into their own hands.

He said: Well, the truth of the matter is that they were addressed by the Commissioner of Police; the Commander of the 2 Brigade, and other sister agencies on the need to be peaceful.

“They were also addressed by the Commissioner for Internal Security, but they insisted that they had to access the Government House. That is why a commensurate force was used to disperse them. They have dispersed peacefully, so there’s no need for anybody to worry.”