On the surface, knowledgeable indigenes (especially the elite class) of Akwa Ibom State, worldwide, are heaping heavy accolades on the present Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Solomon Arase, for his determination to put a stop to most of the heinous crimes, such as kidnappings and assignations, that used to be regarded as "normal" in the days of his predecessors.

It has only been a few months since Mr. Solomon Arase was transferred to Akwa Ibom State to replace Mr. Felix Uyana as the Commissioner of Police. The impact of his command is very well marked; since his arrival in the State, there have been considerable reductions in the number of incidents of kidnapping, assassination, armed robbery, and bank robbery. Reports have confirmed that Mr. Arase has zero tolerance for any criminal activity, especially crimes of a capital nature.

A few days after reporting for duty in Akwa Ibom State, several discrete killings of those suspected to be former or active kidnappers have been taking place nearly on a daily basis. For this, Akwa Ibom people have sent in words of encouragements in different forms to Mr. Arase, thanking him for his efforts in trying to make the State livable.

However, what many Akwa Ibom people do not know is the truth behind all the killings. While outwardly it may appear as if Mr. Solomon Arase is doing an excellent job of cleansing the State, what goes on behind closed doors is totally a different agenda; Solomon Arase is helping criminals to commit more crime---tampering with evidence.

According to a few reliable sources, when Mr. Arase arrived in Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio sat him down and told Mr. Arase of his inability to order those who kidnap and assassinate people to seize and desist from their criminal activities. Mr. Akpabio assured Mr. Arase of his total support if he (Arase) can do everything within his power to eliminate "all the bloody kidnappers." "Just eliminate them," Akpabio pleaded. "I mean, kill them, you have my support, I am the Governor here, kill them. They are making me look bad and giving the State a bad name, kill them." Mr. Solomon Arase went to work, immediately.

But, what Godswill Akpabio did not tell Mr. Arase at the time of their meeting was the real reason why he pleaded for the killings of the kidnappers. With all the litigations against Akpabio pending in courts in Uyo and in Abuja, Akpabio knows very well that the outcome of at least one of those cases will definitely force him out of office within a short time. And Akpabio suspects that once he leaves the office, as the Chief Security Officer of the State, there may be petitions calling for his role in some of the kidnappings and assassinations that occurred under his watch. To cover up his role, credible witnesses, such as those who were paid by Akpabio or who received direct orders from him to commit the crime, must be eliminated.

The Killing of “Musa”

After the conversation between Godswill Akpabio and Mr. Solomon Arase, the dutiful Commissioner of Police went to work. The first reported incident carried out by Mr. Arase to prove to Akpabio that he is an excellent Commissioner of Police was the reported murder of a notorious criminal by the street-name of "Musa." According to news reports at the time, Mr. Musa (as far as I can remember) and five or six others were unsuspectingly gunned down in broad day light as they went about their business. When Musa and the others were killed, several people asked the Commissioner if they were killed on the scene of a crime. The Police Commissioner had no answer, except to say that he is determined to eliminate criminal elements in the State.

The Sudden Death of Chief Eseme Essien

A recent incident involved Chief Eseme Essien. The chief was a retired Head of Service, who served in the administration of Obong Victor Attah. Coincidentally, on the very day Mrs. Anwana (another retired Head of Service) was going to be buried, Chief Eseme Essien was invited to the Police Station at Ikot Akpan Abia for questioning against allegations of a crime (some say it was a murder) said to have been sponsored by the Chief.

During interrogation, Chief Eseme Essien was asked if he ordered Mr. Udo Owotowo (not his real name) to commit the said crime. As expected, the Chief denied. He was questioned several times, each time, the Chief denied, swearing to God Almighty as his witness that he was telling the truth, and nothing but the truth.

Then the interrogators did something the Chief never suspected. They asked him to relax and wait. Chief Eseme Essien agreed, though he was sweating profusely. One of the interrogators went to an adjacent room and ordered a man to come with him. The man was Mr. Udo Owotowo, whom the Chief, according to reports, had paid a large sum of money to commit the crime. When Udo Owotowo entered the room and stood face-to-face with Chief Eseme Essien, everything changed. Chief Essien collapsed and died, instantly, apparently of a heart attack. He died with the truth; he never admitted to the allegations and, with his death, no one would ever know if the allegations made by Udo Owotowo against Chief Eseme Essien were facts or another ploy set up by his enemies to smear and rubbish the name of an innocent man.

Meanwhile the campaign to eliminate witnesses and criminals that would be needed by the judicial system to testify against Godswill Akpabio and the rest of his murderous officials are still going on. Now, the question is would they be able to kill everyone? Even Adolf Hitler couldn’t kill all the Jews in Germany during World War II. Saddam Hussein couldn’t kill all the Iraqis who opposed his evil regime and when he was toppled, it was the Iraqis that hanged him.

That of Akwa Ibom State will not be different. Every witness and every criminal will not be killed. As one man put it, for every crime committed in Akwa Ibom State, more than one person has solid information to the crime.

I just stumbled on this story since 2012 that it was first published. Has the truth been known yet?