Senator’s police guard beats up cabbie
Senator’s police guard beats up cabbie
It was like a scene from a horror movie. In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Saturday night, a riot policeman on guard duty at the home of Senator Azuta Mbata, battered a taxi driver, Mr. Peace Ezekiel, with dagger and rifle.
Ezekiel, who was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), is in a critical condition.
His ash colour taxi cab, Mazda 323, has been moved to the Ozuoba Police Station on NTA-Choba Road.
Mbata represented Rivers East for two terms in 1999 and 2003, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Narrating his ordeal yesterday, the taxi driver said: “I was stabbed with dagger many times by one of the mobile policemen guarding Senator Azuta Mbata’s home at Mgbuoba, Port Harcourt. The policeman also used his dagger to cut the front tyre by the driver’s side.
“I picked up a woman passenger on Peter Odili Road and I dropped her after Senator Mbata’s house at 9:45 pm. on Saturday. As I was reversing, the MOPOL rushed to me with a dagger and gun. He shot into the air and said I flashed my light on his face. The MOPOL threatened to kill me, forced me out of the taxi and stabbed me with dagger many times. My shout attracted residents, passers-by and the woman I came to drop. Three policemen on guard at the Senator’s home also came. But before they showed up, the MOPOL had cut one of the tyres of my taxi.
“The other policemen tried to intervene, but the MOPOL continued to beat and drag me on the ground, with my clothes stained with blood. The woman I came to drop, other residents and passers-by witnessed the brutality. We were begging, but the MOPOL ignored us. The three policemen first took me to a nearby clinic, they kept knocking the gate, but the owner did not open. We went to a pharmaceutical shop, but the owner said I should be taken to UPTH.
“The sympathisers rushed me to UPTH, after reporting at Ozuoba Police Station. I am with the medical report. Some policemen later went to the scene and moved my taxi to Ozuoba Police Station. The Investigating Police Officer (IPO) said on Sundaymorning that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was busy and could not see me. The IPO asked me to return to the police station on Monday (today). The policemen are trying to protect the MOPOL.”
The driver, who was in great pains, called on the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, to intervene in the matter, and ensure justice.
Police spokesman Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad confirmed the incident on telephone yesterday.
Ahmad said: “The investigation is on. I contacted the DPO (of Ozuoba Police Station), but he said the policemen denied the incident.
“The DPO confirmed that the matter was reported and that the complainant (Ezekiel) came to the police station with wound on his body. DPO promised to continue with the investigation. Whoever commits the offence will be dealt with, according to the law. Nobody is above the law.
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