At least two regular marshals of FRSC were on Saturday allegedly shot by the security detail attached to the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly for stopping the Speaker's wife.
The injured officers
According to eyewitnesses told who disclosed exclusively to PUNCH, the Abia State House of Assembly Speaker, Chikwendu Kalu, on Saturday, allegedly ordered some policemen in the state to shoot officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps on patrol.
It was gathered that the speaker gave the order when the FRSC officers stopped the Sport Utility Vehicle his wife was travelling in along the Umuikaa/Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway.
“When the vehicle was stopped (by the FRSC officials), the driver refused to stop, only for him to stop at a distance.
“The driver reversed the vehicle and it was discovered that a woman in the passenger seat in front, is an officer of the Department of State Services attached to the governor’s wife.
“The DSS officer ran towards the officer who stopped the vehicle, held him by uniform and dragged him to the ground, accusing him of hitting their vehicle,” a reliable source said.
The source added that the speaker’s wife allegedly joined the policemen to beat the official. “One of them called the speaker whose village is nearby. He then came with some policemen. He ordered them to shoot the armless officers who were sitting inside the patrol vehicle and mercilessly beat up the team leader.
“The policemen also forcefully opened the patrol vehicle and went away with the battery. They left the team leader and the other officials that were shot on the road. Other road users helped them to the hospital,” said the source.
The FRSC Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, confirmed the incident. He said the case had been “reported to the commissioner of police in the state for further investigations and that it won’t deter the FRSC from saving lives on the highways.”
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the speaker Mr. Okey Chikwendu promised to confirm the incident and get back to our correspondent. He had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
Efforts to get the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Geofrey Ogbonna, were unsuccessful as he neither picked calls made to his mobile nor responded to the text message sent.