People of Umualum Enugu-Agu Achi community in the Oji-River Council Area of Enugu State, on Monday, protested against extortion of villagers for committing no offence by Police.
They also pleaded with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to prevail on the former Commissioner in the state, Dr Eric Oluedo, a title-holder who represents the village in Igwe-in-council, to stop using police to harass and intimidate villagers because his wife was a serving judge in the State High Court.
The people, who carried placards with inscriptions, “Oji-River Police Area Command should stop arresting villagers and extorting N35,000 as bell for committing no crime”; “We Say No to the tyranny of Dr Eric Oluedo”; “Please Gov. Ugwuanyi Rescue Us”; “We are tired of police intimidation and molestation of our people”; among others.
The protesters also marched around the community and Oji-River town.
One of the leaders of the protesting villagers, Sunday Umeh, who was among people arrested and extorted of N35,000 by the police, told journalists that the only crime he committed was that he supported a prayer crusade in the village.
The 65-year-old Umeh said that the prayer crusade was meant to seek the face of God over what he described as the backwardness of the community youths in their businesses and anything they ventured into.
He alleged that police personnel within the area were being used to terrorise them because they wanted to worship God and seek divine solutions to their widely known problems.
