Ben Dunno, Warri
Residents of Warri and its environs have expressed displeasure over the activities of security operatives, especially policemen deployed on special duties to enforce compliance during this ongoing lockdown to stop further spread of the Coronavirus in Delta state.
Our correspondent who went round the town to observe the level of compliance in Warri, Effurun and neighbouring council areas, discovered that residents were disenchanted with the treatment melted out to them by the police in their areas.
Mr. Kingsley Onyemachukwu, a resident DDPA, popularly known as Bendel Estate, off Airport road, narrated his experience with policemen from Ugborikoko police station, who mounted a major checkpoint at the Airport Junction harrassing passersby on that axis.
According to him, “we were suprised when we got up at about 6:30am only to see armed policemen and vigilantes blocking all entrance point to our areas and even when we explained to them we wanted to go out and get drugs at a nearby pharmacy they still wouldn’t oblige us.
“I explained to them repeatedly that I was out to get drugs for my kid who was sick, they still wouldn’t reason with me. They demanded to know how much I had on me and even when I told them I had only N500 with which I intended to buy drugs, they insisted I dropped the money or they won’t let me leave.
“This is sad and not what we expected from our security agents at this critical time when we are all trying to cope with the hardship the lockdown has brought on us as a people”, he lamented.
Another resident of Effurun, Mrs. Lucy Atare, a trader at the Effurun market, lamented the uncivilized way the security agents were dealing with civil populace during this period and urged the authorities to do something about it before the situation further degenerates into lawlessness.
According to her, “we (traders) are tired of the attitude of the security agents, mostly the police during this period. We can no longer cope and that’s why we are calling on the state government and the appropriate heads of these agencies to come to our aide.
“We were going to the market this morning when we saw policemen from A Division in Warri blocking our access road to the new location of the market where we trade demanding for settlement before they would allow us have access to go further.
“We are tired of this extortion and inhumane treatment and that’s why we are demanding that something drastic be done to check the excesses of these security men before we begin to have crisis in our hands,” she stated.
