The Police Community Relations Committee in Imo has distanced itself from a planned protest against police brutality, violence, and extortion in Imo.

The PCRC chairman, Bathram Uzodimma, said this while speaking with journalists in Owerri, on Monday.

Residents from Ahiazu, Aboh, and Ezinihitte Mbaise local governments had planned a mass protest against police brutality and extortion along the Owerri-Umuahia highway, a key corridor to Mbaise.

The protest was slated for Thursday by Wisdom Anyanwu, described as a concerned citizen.

He said that although the PCRC admitted that there was a high level of police brutality reported within the Mbaise axis, the committee had taken cogent measures to address the situation.

He said that the leadership of the PCRC had met with heads of security agencies, including the army and police, with assurances that the menace would be tackled head-on.

“We must tread with caution, and this is why we are against the protest and have asked the Mbaise people not to honour it.

“We call on the convener, Mr Wisdom Anyanwu, to call off the protest and allow set mechanisms for addressing the issues,” he said.

Mr Uzodimma assured  the residents that  no resident would be humiliated by the police under his watch.

He also condoled with the families of victims of a recent killing by gunmen in Ideato North area, adding that security agencies were committed to ending the menace.

Also speaking, former PCRC chairman, Chima Chukwunyere, decried the police’s brutality along the Owerri-Umuahia road. He accused officers of brutalising youths and extorting them.

The chairman, however, reaffirmed the PCRC’s commitment to ensuring a cordial relationship between the police and the Nigerian public.

He called on the residents to abandon the protest, which he said could easily be hijacked, as the organisers had yet to establish adequate contacts with relevant authorities.

(NAN)