Suspected militants on Wednesday laid siege to Calabar-Itu Road, firing sporadic shots and preventing motorists from plying the road.
The cause of their action was not immediately known, but our correspondent who visited the scene around Usung Esuk noticed that no vehicle was allowed into or out of Calabar from 5am on Wednesday.
Some of the villagers who spoke with our correspondent, however, attributed the action of the suspected militants to the lingering crisis between Ikot Offiong and their Ikot Ekpo neighbours.
They told our correspondent that the shoot-out, which lasted till about 10am, might not be unconnected with the recent killing of a native of the Usung Esuk village by a trailer driver.
One of them told our correspondent that the youths were aggrieved that the family of the deceased was not compensated.
Between the early hours of the day and noon, over 400 vehicles from Uyo and Calabar could not ply the road until the arrival of law enforcement agents.
Riot policemen who were earlier drafted to the area could not contain the youths, until the arrival of soldiers.
The soldiers eventually forced the youths to flee the road into the bush before motorists could pass.
The police image maker in Cross River State, Mr. Adams Okpene, told our correspondent on the telephone that he was not aware of the incident.
He, however, said he would liaise with his colleague in Odukpani for details.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, Sgt. Werinipre Digifa, has stated that military action cannot solve the problems of the Niger Delta.
He said dialogue between the aggrieved youths and the Federal Government would bring a lasting solution to the crises.
Digifa, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said genuine hostage-taking was not for ransom, but to attract international attention to the plight of the people of Niger Delta.
He said kidnapping, militancy, taking over of flow stations and other oil facilities as well as youth restiveness had not abated because the aggrieved people, especially the youths, were not carried along.
The Egbesu chairman said, �Representatives of all the ethnic groups in the Niger Delta should be invited by the Federal Government for dialogue and not opportunists, who are government�s apologists.
He said, �The Federal Government is not ready to end hostage-taking, otherwise, it would have known the right people to dialogue with.
�They must have realised by now that force or military action cannot solve the problem.�
Digifa added that tension would continue to heighten in the country until the people were allowed to choose their leaders, devoid of rigging and intimidation.
Aug302007