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

The committee’s Chairman, Mr Bathram Uzodimma, made this known while speaking with newsmen in Owerri, the state capital, on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 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 corridor to Mbaise.

The protest, slated for August 7, 2025, is to be convened by Mr Wisdom Anyanwu, 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 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.

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

He also condoled with 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, the immediate past Chairman of the PCRC, Mr Chima Chukwunyere, frowned at police acts along the Owerri-Umuahia Road, whereby they brutalised youths and forcefully extorted money from 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 jettison the protest, which he said could easily be hijacked, as the organisers had yet to establish adequate contacts with relevant authorities.

NAN