…Blames Traders, Police
A clergy man in Rivers State, Rev Dr Sokari Soberekon, has expressed regret that the street traders in Mile 1 Flyover had returned, accusing them and some police officers in the area of encroaching on his land.
In a chat with newsmen in Port Harcourt, Dr Soberekon, who was also a one-time chairman of Rivers Sanitation Task Force, now Rivers Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) under former governors, Melford Okilo and Fidelis Oyakhilome, alleged that the policemen at the Abali station, because of flooding, dug drainage in his land without his consent and channeled it into his soak-away, lamenting that the drainage has not only blocked his soak-away but has also disfigured his land.
He said when he asked the officer in charge of the station, whom he identified as DSP Sambo, why they dug the drainage in his land and also allowed the street traders to sample their goods by his fence, he threatened to arrest and detain him if he disturbed the traders again.
Decrying what he described as an unfair treatment in his own state, Dr Sokari Soberekon recalled that there was a time a trader attacked and tried to prevent him from passing through his pedestrian land and when he reported the matter to the police at Abali station, they arrested the boy and later released him.
He lamented that the police at the Abali station are no longer protecting his life and property, which he said should have been their primary duty.
Soberekon, who was a former chairman of Port Harcourt City Council, commended the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for tackling the menace of street trading in the state.
He said the move to rid Port Harcourt of street traders was good if allowed to succeed.
Soberekon lauded the state government for clearing Garrison Junction of street traders but advised that the round-about there should be dismantled while a fly-over should be constructed to facilitate free flow of traffic at the Aba-Port Harcourt Express Way.
“In civilized cities, flyovers and tunnels are constructed to allow free flow of traffic on express ways,” he said.
He also appealed to minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi, to bring federal buses to Rivers State to ease the movement of people in the state, adding: “Even if it is Molue lorries, the transport minister should bring so that Rivers people can enjoy the good roads Governor Wike has built.”
When TPCN visited Abali Police Station to get the reaction of DSP Sambo to the allegation made by Dr Sokari Soberekon, he (Sambo) was said not to be on seat.
