Chief
of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai
There was panic
Monday morning at the Railway Post, Umuahia, Abia State when police officers
attached to the post allegedly manhandled a man later identified as an Army
captain for packing his 18-seater Mitsubishi bus close to the fence of the
Police station.
According to eye witness accounts, the Divisional Police officer in-charge of the police post was said to be driving into the station when he spotted the bus and ordered the owner to repack the bus claiming that it was blocking his way.
According to eye witness accounts, the Divisional Police officer in-charge of the police post was said to be driving into the station when he spotted the bus and ordered the owner to repack the bus claiming that it was blocking his way.
The Army captain who was in mufti, was said to
have come out, greeted the DPO and quickly wanted to repark his bus. But the
police officer was said to have ordered him to come closer and explain why he
should block his way to the station.
The army officer was said to have continued to
plead with the angry police officer when he refused to allow him to remove his
vehicle to re-park. Rather, he was alleged to have ordered his men to
arrest the man, who at that juncture unveiled his identity, which was doubted
by the police officer who insisted that he must be arrested.
The scene
attracted passers-by and people doing sundry businesses around the area, who
also joined to plead with the police officer who refused to budge and insisted
that the soldier must be arrested.
“He must obey my arrest order; you people
should tell him to obey my arrest order. You must obey my arrest order, you
said you are a captain, you must tell me how many wars you have fought.
“I have fought in three Boko Haram states of
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe before coming here. You must show me your identity today. Drag him
into the cell now,” the DPO whose identity was not immediately known was
yelling.
However, the
tables turned against the ‘powerful’ DPO when four soldiers arrived at the
police station and discovered the man being molested was actually an army
captain. They got angry that an officer who was calm and gentle was being
disgraced by the police officer.
They called for
reinforcements and in less than 15 minutes, four Hilux vans loaded with
soldiers arrived the police station. They took away the DPO and another police
officer with them to their base, after giving them the beating of their lives.
The police have
colonized the parking lots around the area, harassing and ordering motorists
not to park vehicles around the area, as they always block the road that passes
through the station.