Terrible: Market woman, 60, allegedly shot by policemen in Akwa Ibom (PICTURED)

Policemen deployed in Akwa Ibom State
to quell a riot are alleged to have shot a
60 year old woman, identified as Comfort
John.

The officers were assigned to the Afaha
Offot Market in the state during a protest
by the market women over the
demolition of  their stalls.
According to reports , the policemen had
stormed the market to disperse the
protesters, who were demonstrating
against the Uyo Capital City Development
Authority, when Mrs. John was shot.

John, who had a stall in the market, was
coming back from Itam Market on Friday
where she had gone to purchase goods.
One of her daughters, Miss Patricia John,
said that as soon as her mother stepped
into her shop, the protesting women
were seen running in every direction as
riot policemen fired gunshots and teargas
canisters at them.

She said, “One of the bullets hit my mum
on the thigh. The riot policemen, who
shot her fled. If not for the Divisional
Police Officer, ‘C’ Division, Mr. Mike Esu,
who helped me to take my mum to
University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, my
mum would have died just for nothing.”

The village head of Afaha Offot, Mr. David
Etuk, who condemned the attack, said he
did not understand the rationale behind
the demolition of Afaha Offot Market by
UCCDA.
He said the inhabitants of the area had
been operating at the market for over
100 years, adding that it was difficult to
explain what prompted the UCCDA to
embark on the demolition of the market
without any prior notice.

He said, “The UCCDA has never come to
Afaha Offot Market to mark the place for
demolition. There was no previous
warning whatsoever. What we noticed on
that fateful Friday was the demolition
exercise being carried out by UCCDA.

“Our women have been selling in this
market for over 100 years. If they feel
the place should no longer be used by
market women, let them provide an
alternative place for them.
“We are going to write a protest letter to
the government over the decision of the
UCCDA to demolish the only market we
have.”

President of the Afaha Offot Market, Mrs.
Anna Robert, said the goods the authority
destroyed were worth N200m. She added
that since that day, the women had been
staying at home with no money to feed
their families.
She stated that some of the women
selling in the markets were widows and
that they used the proceeds from sales in
the market to fend for their families.
The state Police Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Etim Dickson, said the police did not
shoot anybody.

He said that the story was false and that
the police were ready to defend it.
He said, “We were monitoring the
demolishing team. After the University of
Uyo incident, no policeman has shot
anybody. The police did not even go there
with baton.
“They were all there in their vehicles.
What they did was to throw teargas to
disperse the shop owners. The accusation
is wrong.”
All attempts to reach the chairman,
UCCDA, Mr. Ignatius Edet, proved
abortive as he did not respond to his calls
or text messages sent to his telephone.