By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
Unyenge Community in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has disassociated self from an attack on Universal Energy Resources Limited (UERL), a privately owned gas manufacturing company located in the area.
The community, which condemned the attack, described it as unacceptable and unpatriotic and called for discrete investigations into the incident to unravel the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
It would be recalled that unknown gunmen suspected to be militants in the early hours of January 20th this year, planted dynamites along the road leading to the UERL, and when it exploded and failed it target, they opened fire on the workers, killing the driver, and injuring two security officers.
In a statement made available to our Correspondent in Uyo, the Chairman, Council of Chiefs of the Community, Ovong Xavier Ekpe, lamented that such incident has never happened in the history of community’s relationship with the company which has been operating more than a decade ago in the area.
The Monarch in the statement, sympathised with the families of the deceased, saying thatsuch act could only have come from enemies of the land to paint the Community in bad light.
“The recent attack on the staff of the Universal Energy Resource Limited, the Chiefs, the Elders and the Youths of Unyenge community regret the unforseen incident that took place on the 20th of this month, where two police and a staff of the Universal Energy Resource Limited were attacked by the hoodlums.
“The Community really frowns at the inhuman and unpatriotic act and do sympathise with the families of the victims of the attacks, the UERL family and the government of Akwa Ibom state.
“The Community sees such act as unacceptable, unpatriotic, devoid of the character of Unyenge people. Such dastardly act must have been caused by enemies of Unyenge people and that of Oron nation at large, with the intent to paint the people in bad light.
“We strongly disassociate ourselves from the activities of the attackers and reassure the government of Akwa Ibom state that Unyenge community is save for any form of investment
“We therefore called on the state government and security agencies to use their might to unravel the perpetrators of this crime with a view towards bringing them to book.Whoever is found culpable should be made to face the full weight of the law,” the Royal Father said.
Commenting also the incident a community leader and President Akwa Ibom state Community in Rivers state, Evangelist Bassey Ekpimah said, “we are not known for this kind of act, we don’t think there is anybody in the community that can be part of this heinous crime, because since this community has been in existence and the UERL has been working here for a long time, more than a decade,we have never witnessed this kind of development before.”
He called on the state government to beef up security in the area to prevent further reoccurrence of the incident.
The President of Unyenge Development Union, Mr Effiong Ekpo, while lamenting frequent attacks by the fishermen by suspected militants also called on the federal government to station Navy gunboat near the Creeks leading to Unyenge community to forestal such attacks.
“As a riverine community,we have have suffered unwarranted attack by militants who attack and sieze our goods, engine boats and others, So we want government to reactivate the naval Base and station a gunboat near the Creeks leading to Unyenge community,” he said.
