It was a mixture of confusion and crisis at Umuokpara community Friday as youths in their numbers stormed the Umuokpara police station demanding the release of their members who they alleged were illegally arrested and detained by the police at Umuokpara police station.
When the News Gazette Online reporter got to the police station, the youths had blocked the Obowu/Umuahia major road causing heavy traffic, they also barricaded the entrance to the police station demanding that their members must be freed and allowed to go home with them, The youths who are members of Okada union (motorbike) alleged that the Police arrested five of their members who were returning from the wake keep of one of their members when the police accosted and took them into custody last night, narrating what happened, one of the youths told our reporter that they came to the police station to identify and take their friends on bail this morning but the police insisted that they must pay 50.000 naira for each of them before they will be released after all pleas with the police fell on deaf ears they decided to storm the police station with the corpse of their late member whom they were taking home for burial.
It was at that point that they decided to block the Owerri/Obowu/Umuahia road and the entrance to the police station holding the police hostage until their members were released to them and allowed to join them for the burial.
Narrating his experience with our reporter one of the detainees after they were released by the police due to pressure from the youths, said he can’t recollect any offence they committed to warrant police detention except that they were going home in the night after the wake keep of the late member, all attempts made to speak to any of the policemen on duty at the station failed, as they insisted that the DPO who was not on seat at the time was the only person who can talk to newsmen.
Meanwhile as at the time of the incident, there was a build up of heavy traffic blocking the express tower axis of the Enugu – Port Harcourt express road and another from Imo state end that extended towards Onuimo down to Obowo.
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