The Abia State Commissioner of Police, CP E. Ene Okon has said the swift intervention of the command in the communal clash between Isu in Arochukwu local government area of the state and Utuma in Baise local government of Cross River State stopped further escalation of conflicts.
In an interview with ABN TV, CP Okon said the command under his leadership deployed mobile policemen to the troubled area who ensured that the clash allegedly caused by boundary dispute is dealt with.
“There is a boundary dispute between Isu in Arochukwu local government of Abia State and Utuma in Baise local government of Cross River State. We have number of mobile police positioned there for over ten months and there have been no crises reported about there before.
“What we heard and saw all happened on the 3rd of January 2020, when some persons from Utuma community in Odukpani local government of Cross River state vied into Isu,the youth of isu captured them and beat them up. We took the mobile police and the DPO to the scene and they were pleading for over 2 to 3hrs for them to release them but they insisted that they want to kill one of them. “We were able to rescue those people, we took them to the hospital and later smuggled them out to Utuma. Nothing else happened other than that.
“Then the Utuma people went back for a revenge mission in which they succeeded in killing one person and injured some. The mobile police went in there and everything was calm, there have not been any open confrontation, what happened was just a revenge mission which we curtailed in some hours” he said.
He also commended the Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu for the support he has given the command since the commencement of the operation.
“Let me appreciate the state government, since I started that operation, he has been paying them allowances on regular basis to sustain them.
“The issue came up on the security meeting on Thursday, so, the government is going to do something about it. Something concrete that will to bring a lasting solution and he has gotten in touch with the governor of cross river state with the view of finding permanent solutions to that boundary dispute in that place but right now, that place is very calm” he said.