Security Wasn’t Withdrawn from Former Governor, Clarifies A’Ibom Govt
The Akwa Ibom State Government has dismissed as false reports that security personnel attached to former Governor Udom Emmanuel were withdrawn on the orders of Governor Umo Eno, describing the stories as deliberate fabrications intended to mislead the public.
The denial came after several news outlets and social posts said police operatives who had been providing security at Mr. Emmanuel’s residences were ordered to withdraw and report to the state police headquarters.
Premium Times published a copy of an order it said was dated September 30 and instructing officers attached to the former governor’s residences to withdraw on October 1 and report for debriefing; its reporters also said they found no operatives at Mr. Emmanuel’s country home in Awa Iman and his Uyo residence.
Responding to the circulating reports, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Umanah, told journalists the allegations were “false and misleading” and that there had been no directive from the governor to withdraw security from any former governor. Umanah said the rumour “exists only in the imagination of those peddling it” and urged members of the public to disregard the claims.
The information commissioner also noted that the deployment, reassignment or withdrawal of police officers is the prerogative of the Inspector-General of Police and the state Commissioner of Police, not the governor. He added that, to the state government’s knowledge, no former governor had lodged any complaint about the alleged withdrawal.
The state government’s rebuttal was echoed in separate statements and social media posts from official accounts and local outlets, which described the story as a calculated attempt to distract the governor from his administration’s agenda.
Attempts to verify the conflicting accounts produced differing responses. While some media reports described the apparent absence of police around the former governor’s properties, the Akwa Ibom Police Command has also been quoted denying that operatives were withdrawn, and the police’s position remains that any movement of personnel would have followed proper channels.
The episode unfolds against the backdrop of heightened political tension in the state since Governor Eno’s defection from the PDP to the APC, an event that has strained relations between him and Mr. Emmanuel, his immediate predecessor. Observers say the dispute has become increasingly public in recent months, drawing attention to security arrangements and the handling of state resources.
For now both the state government and the police command have denied a formal withdrawal, and officials have called for calm while urging media consumers to rely on official channels for confirmation. The matter remains fluid; journalists say they will continue to seek clarification from the police headquarters and from representatives of the former governor.
