It was pandemonium recently in Owerri, Imo State, as men of Nigeria Police and Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, jointly battered a taxi Driver, and one of his passengers. The ugly incident took place at Egbu-Mbaise road, Owerri, exactly opposite ICAPS.
The incident which happened at exactly 8:30am shocked on-lookers and commuters who in harsh voices condemned the act of the security personnel who rather than protect citizens brutalize them at the slightest “opportunity”.
According to Mr Charles Okereke, the victim of the assault, he boarded a Taxi at Emekuku, and was heading towards Owerri when the driver of the vehicle ran into men of Road safety commission with a pick up van (Registration number withheld).
Sensing that they will flag him down, the driver reversed and headed back towards Emekuku, only for the men of FRSC to stop him.
Rather than impound the vehicle or reprimand the driver, the Road Safety officials descended on the driver, and the passenger in front, (Mr Charles Okereke) and beat them black and blue, without giving them any chance to say a word.
As if that was not enough, a Police Patrol Van passing by, stopped and without question, joined their FRSC colleagues in the beating.
However, when the assault go too much, after the men were left in their own pool of blood, the crowd marshalled the courage to confront the “killer squad” and rescued the helpless Driver and his passenger.
Asked what led to the assault, Mr Charles Okereke who was bleeding profusely, told Trumpeta that he was just a passenger and saw the driver turn his vehicle on sighting the Road Safety men who pursued and stopped him and started assaulting everybody in the vehicle.
Mr Okereke who said he was a civil servant said he had no money to treat himself, as he was just going to work to see if the Government has paid him his three months salary arrears.
