The incident, which occurred at Afoule market junction, along Aba-Owerri, Aba, at about 7.30am caused heavy gridlock as two lanes of the road were blocked. There was traffic gridlock as commuters trekked long distances to the Brass junction and the Enugu –Port Harcourt expressway. Eyewitnesses told Vanguard that a Mercedes Benz 911 truck was conveying bags of gari and other farm produce into Aba when the Police team stopped it at Afoule road junction.
“When the driver refused to ‘roger’ the Policemen, an argument ensued and we heard a gunshot and the driver was hit, his vehicle was ridden with blood. “There was confusion as people scampered to safety. Within a few minutes, there was heavy police deployment to the area,” the eyewitnesses said.
When contacted, Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Geoffrey Ogbonna, said efforts are on top gear to identify the Policeman who shot the driver, assuring that the Policeman will face the music as the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Leye Oyebade, has zero tolerance for indiscipline. He urged motorists and residents to go about their normal business without fear of molestation.
Speaking on the situation, the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, in a statement by its chairman, Aba Unit, Prof. Charles Chinekezi, urged the Police authorities in the state to fish out and prosecute the Policeman who shot the driver to serve as a deterrent to others. CLO appealed to the Commissioner of Police who he described as a God fearing officer to allow the matter to be swept under the carpet, adding that cases of police intimidation of residents of Aba, have gone haywire.
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