The Chief Fire Officer, Anambra State Fire Service, Engineer
Martin Agbili, has accused policemen in the state of beating him black and blue
for allegedly driving pass front of the police headquarters.
Agbili said that he was beaten and his clothes torn right in the
presence of his family. He said that the incident happened at the front of the
police command Sunday, while in his official car.
He said: “I was driving my official car and my family members were
with me. I was driving pass the front of the
police headquarters. I was not the only one. Other private cars had
driven pass. The policemen flagged me down; I introduced myself. I told one of
them, Inspector Peter Samuel, that I was
the Chief Fire Officer. He responded, ‘common fire service.’
“The policemen refused to allow me to drive pass. I picked my
phone and called the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr. Mike Okoli.
As I was waiting for his response, some of the policemen pounced on me.
They repeatedly hit and slapped me. I stood without reacting; they pushed me
around in front of my wife and kids. As they were beating me, they told me that
they would show me that Fire Service was nothing.”
Agbili further explained that while some looked on helplessly as
the policemen battered him, others pleaded with them to stop the beating.
He added: “ People that witnessed the beating, told them that what
they were doing was wrong, especially since I had already introduced myself.”
When some fire service men heard what was going on, they rushed to
the scene. The newcomers were also attacked. Agbili disclosed that just like
him, his men’s clothes were also torn.
“After the officers had manhandled me and my men, the DCP came.
The policemen suddenly disappeared. But I can recognize them anywhere, even
though they were in mufti. Honestly, I least expected this insult and disgrace
on me and Fire Service.”
The
Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO),
SP Haruna Mohammed, said: “The attention of command was drawn to a write-up in
the social media by one Engineer Agbili of Anambra State Fire Service
department that on May 10th at night. He claimed to have
been assaulted by policemen while driving pass front of the Commissioner
of Police Office. The publication is not only false, but totally misleading.”
Mohammed explained: “The real fact in issue was that on that date,
at about 9pm, Mr. Agbili drove his vehicle towards the barrier of the state
command headquarters and insisted that he must drive pass through the barrier despite
being told by the policemen on duty that motorists were not allowed to drive
pass barrier at night due to security reasons. Instead of adhering to their
explanation, the man became hostile and started raining insults on them. He
threatened that he would teach them a lesson while his wife was shouting and
video-recording them. “Consequently, he called other Fire Service personnel,
who came with a fire service truck and barricaded the road completely. They
created a scene and serious traffic congestion at the junction, which actually
leads to governor’s lodge. It took the intervention of the DCP, in charge of
operation to restore order. The DCP cautioned the man, before he ordered his
men to remove the fire truck from the road.
“The Command wondered why a person of such status, who
supposed to uphold the law, was the very person violating it. His actions could
have degenerated into total breakdown of law and order if not for the timely
intervention of the DCP. In view of the foregoing, the public are enjoined to
ignore such publication which was aimed at raising false alarm and casting
aspersions against the Force.”
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