Posted by On Tuesday, tear gas was used to separate youths from Akwa Ibom State who were protesting the state receiving only 5% of the total 13% oil derived from the country.
The kids traveled to Government House, where they delivered their request to the governor, Pastor Umo Eno, while clad in white and black and singing war songs. The youths were representing the Ibom kids Congress.
According to reports, the police personnel manning the Uyo Police Area Command, close to the Government House, fired multiple tear gas canisters, causing chaos.
Comrade Victor Bassey James, Secretary of the Niger Delta Movement (NDM), addressed the rally before it was forcibly dispersed. He bemoaned the lack of empowerment of the youths and demanded that they receive 5% of the 13% oil extraction as compensation.
CP Durosinmi, the commander of the 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, his NSCDC counterpart, the state’s commissioner in charge of internal security, and other concerned officials appealed for peace while assuring the crowd that Governor Uno Eno would take care of their complaints when the time was right.
Mr. Odiko MacDon, the police public relations officer, indicated that the deployment of tear gas was necessary to prevent criminals seeking to break into Government House from enforcing their own laws.
The Commander of the 2 Brigade, the Commissioner of Police, and other sister agencies all spoke to them about the importance of maintaining peace, he said.
“The Commissioner for Internal Security addressed them as well, but they insisted that they needed to enter the Government House. Because of this, a comparable amount of force was utilized to scatter them. Nobody needs to fear because they dispersed peacefully.