THISDAYonline

As the dust raised by the demonstration of youths in Akwa Ibom State against the relocation of the jetty in Qua Iboe Terminal by Mobil Producing is yet to settle, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Richard Chime, has debunked reports of the death of two people during the demonstration.

Chime, in a telephone chat with THISDAY, noted that there was no death as a result of riots in the state to protest the alleged relocation of the jetty in Qua Iboe Terminal in Ibeno Local Government area of the state to Onne in Rivers State.

He said his men were on hand immediately the riots broke out to keep peace, admitting that some of his men were injured by the youths who threw stones and other dangerous weapons at them.

Trouble broke out in Ibeno, when youths gathered that Mobil was in the process of scaling down jetty operations, by moving its jetty to Onne. The youths quickly grouped themselves together and marched on to the terminal, chanting songs war and throwing stones, broken bottles and other missiles at workers and a detachment of mobile policemen quickly arrived the scene to handle the situation.

The demonstrations compelled Mobil to ask its workers to stay at home for two working days for security reasons.

Mobil, in a press statement made available to THISDAY and signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Udom Inoyo, explained that "Mobil decided that by end of August, heavy materials would be transported to offshore locations from Onne, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, where the company already has logistics facilities." The statement stressed that ''the QIT jetty would still be used for the transportation of lighter materials like water and fuel for safety reasons."