By Odimegwu
Onwumere
By
this hour of filing this report (1:50PM), today, 8 March, 2012, some people
accompanied by soldiers allegedly from the state government Rivers State
stormed Oyigbo, Rivers State, destroying what they claim are illegal structures
and setting them ablaze.
What
is amiss is why they should take to the habit of setting people's wares and
property ablaze having forcefully evicted the victims. Some residents who do
not want their names in print said that the victims who are mostly petty
traders were not given notice to quit the places they occupied; they were
surprisingly attacked by their victimizers.
“Some
of us who wanted to take pictures of our victimizers with our cameras had them
seized by the soldiers and they took some persons away,” said the source.
Others
alleged that those whose wares and makeshift shops were burnt were those who
did not pay money (as bribe) to their victimizers, while others who had paid
have their wares saved, though no makeshift shops was spared along the areas
that were affected.
Sunproves
attached to shops along Shell
Location Road, (coming from Mbano junction)
Oyigbo, were heavily touched. Those that were along the Aba/Port Harcourt Express Road, Oyigbo,
were where the burning took place.
An
organization, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV), has added its
voice to the matter, calling on Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State to
investigate the matter, whether those who took on this unsocial act were
directed to do so, stressing that if they were not directed to do so, they
could be described as those who give bad name to the Amaechi-led government of
Rivers State, whereas the man is putting tremendous effort to put Rivers State
right.
“While
we do not support the act of illegal structure, we hereby condemn the act of
setting items seized from the victims ablaze before their eyes or anywhere
else. The act is gruesome MISINTERPRETATION and MISREPRESENTATION of power.” The
group said through its coordinator.
However,
reactions from well meaning citizens is that effort should be made to find out
whether the state government had issued warning notice with deadline to the
owners of such illegal structures prior to the demolition exercise. If it did,
its act in this regard should NOT attract hostile criticism. But if it did not,
its act is unfair to its people.
Odimegwu
Onwumere, Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers
State (CONIRIV) wrote in from Port
Harcourt
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