150 ejected policemen appeal to IG for help

Police officers ejected from their barracks in Onitsha, Anambra State, have sent a passionate appeal to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, to come to their aid. The over 150 officers, who stormed media offices in Onitsha on Thursday, said they were asked by their superiors to pack out of the barracks  on or before Friday (today) or they would face forcible ejection.
According to them, the police authorities said a court judgment hadawarded the ownership of the land on which the barracks was located to a family in Onitsha and that the police would have to vacate the land immediately.
The distressed officers, who said they were not in a position to join issues with the authorities, noted that they had no place to move their property and families in order to beat the 18-hour quit notice served on them.
They alleged that the police authorities had all along given them the impression that the barracks was on a 103-year lease, even some of them had lived there for up to 23 years.
Besides, they added that the authorities had been deducting their allowances to pay for their rent in the barracks, saying it was only fair that they be given a reasonable time to seek alternative places to live.
They said it was because they had nowhere else to run for cover that they were appealing to the IG to come to their assistance.
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, who confirmed the quit notice to the officers, told our correspondent that the police hierarchy in Abuja had consented to relinquishing the land to the original owners.