Scores of operatives from the counter terrorism unit of the Imo state police command blocked the Owerri/Orlu road in the state capital on Saturday to protest lack of accommodation.
According to PUNCH, the operatives who were demonstrating for the second day in a row caused traffic gridlock and panic in the area.
The demonstrators, who reportedly wore masks to hide their identities, set bonfires on the high way.
Narrating their ordeal to reporters, one of the policemen said, “we have been pushed out of our quarters on Orlu road by the management of Federal Medical Center, Owerri.”
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“To make things worst, our commander supported the act and no alternative place has been provided for us.
“We moved into this place in 2015 after our quarters in Nekede was marked for renovation. But this base 7 of CTU of Nigeria police Force started operation in this state in 2011.
“We have done more than enough to ensure safety and security in this state. This is not the best way to treat us considering the kind of work we are doing in this state.”
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“As we demonstrate, our families are stranded. Bulldozers are destroying the quarters. Our property, documents, credentials and other personal belonging are outside.”
“We demand better treatment. We are human beings working for the betterment of this country. We should be treated like human beings not like animals.”
The newspaper quoted Orlando Ikokwu, police public relations officer in the state, as saying alternative quarters had been provided for the protesting policemen.
Ikokwu said the protesting cops failed to understand that the quarters where they were ejected from was not supposed to be their permanent quarters.
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He said the protest would not deter the command from fighting crimes and making the yuletide period a crime-free one.
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