Policemen protest over demolition of illegal structures in barracks

Some men and officers of the Nigeria Police have stormed the streets of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in protest over the alleged demolition of their residents in Miniokoro Police Barracks, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

The policemen, who protested, yesterday, within the area, said they were forcefully evicted from their residents.

One of the affected officers, who did not want to be mentioned, said the decision was not proper, adding that the affected persons were not notified before the action.

He said: “It came to us as a shock. We were in our houses this morning (yesterday) when we saw bulldozer bringing our houses down.

“We were not informed before the action. It will affect our job. Our families are displaced already. We are calling on the management and the Inspector of Police to help us save the situation.”

However, the Paramount Ruler of Rumuobiakani community, Eze Temple Ejeku, has advised the protesting officer to allow the directive of the Inspector General of Police to go on.

Ejeku, the traditional ruler of the host community to the barracks, after a meeting with the DPO of the state, called for peace and understanding between the police and the affected persons.Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command has said the action was based on the decision of the Police management team.

Spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the development, said the police were in the move to retrieve their property from illegal occupants.

Koko said: “The command is aware of the demolition exercise. Those people are illegal occupants, they do not have their C of O. If they have, they should come up with it.“That land belongs to the Nigeria Police and police is destroying shanties and illegal structures in the barracks.

“The police management agreed on the action because there are some persons in the barracks that are of questionable characters, so they decided to demolish shanties and illegal structures in the barracks. It is internal restructuring that is going within the police.”