Irate mobs consisting of members of the Uwazuruike-led members of the Movement to the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra on Thursday, attacked a northern settlement in Onitsha over the killing of a coaster bus driver by a police officer. The driver had refused to offer the policemen bribe at a checkpoint.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the mob was however stopped by the leader of MASSOB, Chief Uwazuruike from harming northerners who had already fled into hiding. Uwazuruike told his members not to Attack northerners, but to dismantle every police checkpoint in the town.
The incident, according to eye-witness, occurred at about 10 a.m. at the Upper New Market Road, Onitsha, near the Onitsha zonal office of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Onitsha.
Samuel Ekwueme, the victim’s bus conductor told newsmen that the policemen who mounted a checkpoint at Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) Radio 2 junction, along Awka Road, Onitsha, flagged down the Coaster commercial bus with Registration No. AA 768 AHD and as usual, demanded N20 bribe.
The driver pleaded with the policemen to allow him make the trip as it was just his first trip. He promised that he would settle as soon as he came back on his second trip but the policemen allegedly refused and insisted that the driver must drop the N20 roger.
“At the ensuing argument, Ekwueme stated, my driver got angry and zoomed off, but unknown to us, one of the policemen jumped into a nearby commercial motorcycle and ordered the cyclist to pursue our vehicle.
“On getting to us, he flagged us down, dragged my driver do opened the door, pulled his trigger and shot the driver on the neck at a close range and he died instantly, while the policeman jumped into the same motorcycle and ordered the cyclist to zoom off,” the conductor narrated.
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