Hoodlums invaded Ikot Abasi village where no fewer than 20 houses were razed and the village head of Ikot Akpan Udo, Ukpum Ette Clan in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Ete-Idung Oscar Abel declared missing, following yesterday’s attack on the community by youths suspected to have come from Amazaba community in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area.
Also, hundreds of people from Ikot Akpan Udo community were said to have sustained various degrees of injuries, with 15 motorcycles, one Jetta Saloon car burnt in the attack said to have occurred at about 2a.m., yesterday.
Youth leader of Ikot Akpan Udo, Mr. Abasi Etukudoh, who spoke on behalf of the community, told newsmen that it was the third time his community was being attacked by the same Amazaba people.
According to him, the first attack occurred on August 28, 2008 and claimed 15 lives, with about 500 houses burnt, while the second attack occurred on July 12, 2015, which left one person dead.
He said: “The delay or refusal by the state government to act swiftly and bring the perpetrators of these attacks to book is what has given them the impetus to keep coming around to attack us.”
A widow’s tears
Also speaking, Mrs. Obot Titus, a widow whose house was razed by the assailants, lamented that since her husband’s demise years ago, she had to shoulder the responsibility of the family alone including erecting the burnt structure.
She wondered where she would raise funds again to provide shelter for her children, especially as her commercial motorcycle, which usually provided income for the family, was burnt along with her home.
The Squad Leader from the Ikot Abasi Police Division, ASP Omini Mathias, told Vanguard that police and other security outfits were currently on top of the matter to bring the perpetrators to book and also bring the age-long skirmish to a final end.
