The Ekit Itam II community in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has raised concerns over the vandalisation of St. Domino Primary School along the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene highway by hoodlums suspected to be scavengers and is seeking intervention.
The community is calling on the Akwa Ibom State Government to investigate, intervene, and curb the menace of the suspected hoodlums.
The Village Head, Eteidung Aloysius Ebong, speaking with journalists in Uyo on Monday, lamented that the hoodlums had stolen iron protectors from the school’s perimeter fence, removed the roofing sheets and other valuable items.
Ebong explained that the problem began when Julius Berger, the company handling the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Highway project, fenced only the school’s frontage, leaving other areas exposed to criminal infiltration.
He said: “Since then, activities of hoodlums in the school have been on the increase.
“All the iron fittings have been removed and carted away.
“It has become difficult to differentiate people with good intentions from criminals passing through the school compound.
“We are using this opportunity to call on the state governor, Umo Eno, to look into the security situation of the school.”
Ebong further disclosed that the community had written multiple letters to the state government with no positive response, adding that nothing was being done to secure the school property.
The Village Council Chairman, Emmanuel Ebong, attributed the problem to scavengers searching for scrap metal.
The Chairman said: “The issue has become so intense that we, the Village Council members and youth, have to mount surveillance at night.
“Even then, if you leave or sleep a little, something will go missing because they are also not sleeping.
“Announcement that all public schools on the main road would be fenced round had been jettisoned after a few schools benefitted and the money for the project not accounted for.”
The community youth leader, Dominic Edem, recounted how a suspect was caught vandalising the school’s roofing sheets but still had the audacity to threaten the youths who apprehended him.
Edem said: “When we finally overpowered him, he was taken to the police station.
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“We spent so much money trying to prosecute the matter, even though the suspect was caught in the act.
“At the end of the day, we had to abandon the case because we could not continue anymore.”
The Head Teacher, Courage Sunny Udom, expressed concerns over the lack of security, revealing that he had been threatened multiple times by the hoodlums.
He described the school as highly vulnerable due to the absence of a perimeter fence.
Udom said: “The school compound has become a thoroughfare for people crossing the field, even at night, as a shortcut to their houses.
“I am even afraid to fix ceiling fans in my office because they may break in and steal them.
“The prime suspects in this whole issue are the ‘iron condemned people’ (scavengers), and they are very hostile.”
The community continues to urge the government to take urgent action to protect the school from further destruction.
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