Popular online medium, IGBERE TV, says its report on the resignation of police officer CSP Francis Osagie Erhabor was factual, and that it stands by it.
“Our reporting was factual, exclusively ran and based on oral and written conversation with the senior police officer,” IGBERE TV said in a statement on Sunday.
IGBERE TV stated this in response to comments by the Akwa Ibom state police spokesman that the report was a ‘figment of the platform’s imagination’ and should be ignored.
“For the avoidance of doubt, appointments and resignations of the NPF are not done on social media,” a statement from the Akwa Ibom police command said, on Saturday.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Amienghene Andrew, fdc, is not in receipt of any letter of resignation from the Senior Officer and has not in anyway communicated same to the Force Headquarters.”
It added that, “The Senior Officer (CSP Francis Osagie Erhabor) is still a bonafide member of the NPF and still the DPO of Itam Divisional Police Headquarters.”
IGBERE TV had published an exclusive story over the weekend on the resignation of CSP Francis Erhabor, the divisional police officer (DPO) in charge of ‘D’ division Itam, in Uyo, over non-promotion and nepotism in the system.
Reacting on Sunday, in a statement entitled, ‘CSP Francis Erhabor: We Stand By Our Report – IGBERE TV’, the news outlet insisted the report was factual.
Describing the comments from the Akwa Ibom police command as ‘empty’, the platform wondered why the Force failed to respond to issues in the report, particularly the non-promotion of the senior police officer and allegations of nepotism in the system.
“We are not surprised that the report drew the ire of the police authorities, who are reportedly now mounting pressure on the senior police officer to rescind his decision.
“We are only surprised at the empty ’statement’ credited to one SP Odiko MacDon, who is said to be the public relations officer of the Akwa Ibom police command, headquarters, in Uyo.
“We wonder why the Force failed to touch the issues in the report: the non-promotion of the senior officer for over three consecutive times, the reported nepotism in the Force, and ‘induced’ promotion of junior colleagues over senior police officers.
“We insist that our reporting was factual and based on oral and written conversation with the senior police officer as obtained by Igbere TV, and we stand by our report even at this time.
“For the avoidance of doubt, CSP Erhabor before bowing out, while expressing regrets, said, ‘I am sorry I let all my fans down. I am deeply sorry for not finishing where you all expected me to finish’. For how long shall the system continue to allow mediocrity, nepotism strive instead of giving preference to and rewarding passionate and honest Force men?”
A senior police officer in Akwa Ibom State, who heads a police division in the state just like CSP Erhabor, on Saturday told PREMIUM TIMES that Erhabor did resign and that “he has been under intense pressure from the police authorities to reconsider his action”.
