Serious Drama As Police Officers Rescue Petroleum Tanker Driver From Being Lynched In Aba

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According to a report by The Nation, the police officers attached to Ndiegoro Police Division under Aba Area Command have averted what could have degenerated into a breakdown of law and order in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State as they whisked away a petroleum tanker driver that was about to be lynched by an angry mob.

Our reporter gathered that the offence of the driver of a Mack trailer truck with registration number Abia UMA 173 ZK was that he unknowingly ran over his conductor where they had gone to discharge Dual Purpose Kerosene (DKP) petroleum product at Obiora Street off East in Aba South LGA.

Sources within the Ndiegoro Police Division told our reporter that the mob on learning that the driver was taken to Ndiegoro Police Station by the Police Team, came to the station, demanding that the driver should be handed over to them.

According to a police source that wouldn’t want its name to be mentioned while narrating the account of the event said “We got a distress call that an angry mob was about lynching a man suspected to be a truck driver at Obiora by East.

“The information was that the situation may degenerate into major crisis if the police and any other security outfit didn’t come as the angry youths have defied attempts to assuage their anger.

“Based on the information, a Police Team and some traffic officers were sent to the scene. By the time the police team got there, the atmosphere was already charged that it took wisdom and professionalism of the officers to whisk away the driver from the scene.

“From what we were able to get, the conductor was directing the driver to park well so that, they can discharge the petroleum product that they came to discharge to their customers.

“While the conductor was directing the driver who was reversing, the conductor was hit by the car and the driver, unknowingly ran over him. He died on the spot.

“But hoodlums who didn’t even know the conductor hijacked the situation which led to serious pandemonium in the area. We believe that it was after efforts by people to calm the situation and stop it from degenerating into a breakdown of law and order failed, that they invited the police.

“When the team that was quickly mobilized to go there saw the situation on the ground, they quickly whisked away the driver to the station for safe custody. The mob on hearing that the man is at the station attempted to come here to demand for the driver, but they were stopped by the officers.

“The body of the conductor has been deposited at the mortuary, while the tanker is at the police station.

“The man that was killed is not even from this (Aba) area and one would wonder why the mob would want to hijack the situation. It was just an incident that one cannot explain what might have caused it.

“The driver will be making statement and from there, we can know whether it was an intentional act or not.

“For now, investigation into the matter is still ongoing. Directives from the State Headquarters will determine what next that we shall be doing,” the police source stated.