Gracia Simeon-Abakaliki
A yet to be identified driver has chopped off a finger of one Mr. Iboko Kenneth to a member of Ebonyi state Capital City Development taskforce to escaped arrest.
According to sources, Iboko, received the biggest shock of his life when the driver after chopping off his finger, went ahead to swallowed the finger .
The incident occurred at Onuebonyi junction in Abakaliki metropolis when the state Ministry of Capital City Development and its taskforce team were inspecting the state capital to ensure that there were no illegal parks within the capital city after all the commercial transport companies relocated to a new park known as Akubaraoha Central park provided for them by the state government with the state capital.
It was gathered that the driver were seen loading passengers on the road which angered the ministry and the taskforce to begin arrest of the defaulter drivers.
However, Standard Times Nigeria gathered that the driver successfully escaped but his vehicle was impounded by the other taskforce team while the victim, was taken to the emergency unit of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki(AE-FUTHA).
Speaking to newsmen, The Commissioner for Capital City Development, Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi described the incident as terrible, unexpected and barbaric.
He said “it is very unfortunate that a driver can attack a law officer who is trying to organize the state to the point of chopping off his finger, this is terrible, unexpected and it is barbaric. So, I want to plead with the motorists not to pull our legs because the taskforce are not weak and we do our job within the confides of the law but for a driver to chop-off a taskforce finger is unacceptable and I assure you that we will get to the root of the matter, it will not happen again.
“We are not using force but the problem is that our people are stubborn particularly the motorists, some of them anyway. But before them, I want to commend some of the transport companies for their cooperation so far that led to the peaceful relocation of the parks within the city to the central park known as Akubaraoha Abakaliki Central Park and if you go there now, the park is very peaceful, businesses are going on, no complain. As government, we are doing our best to fence the place and put internal roads and other social amenities.
“But we have discovered with dismay that some drivers are bent on operating from the streets instead of doing the needful buy joining their colleagues at the central park. My encounter with them this morning is an evidence to that assertion. Along water works road, behind the police checkpoints there, we saw over 10 buses loading Enugu and Onitsha.
“We also patrol to Onuebonyi junction, we also saw 11 trucks, buses, sienna buses loading there not minding our repeated warnings to that effect”.
The taskforce arrested five drivers for illegal loading. Nwebonyi said the arrested drivers will be arraigned in court
