The Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC) has called for the arrest and prosecution of those involved in the
recent shooting of two of its officials in Abia.
The Public Education Officer and
spokesman of the Corps, Mr Bisi Kazeem, made the call on Tuesday while reacting
to the reported dismissal of a Police Corporal, Iroh Orji, over the incident.
Orji, who was an orderly to the
Speaker of Abia House of Assembly, allegedly pulled the trigger on the FRSC
officials at their duty post on July 15.
The state Commissioner of Police,
Mr Leye Oyebade, announced Orji’s dismissal from the Force on Monday, saying
that he was found guilty of the offence during an orderly room trial.
Kazeem told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the policeman’s dismissal was a welcomed
development.
He, however, called for the
criminal prosecution of Orji and others involved in the shooting, including the
Speaker, his wife and an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS).
He said “the corporal’s dismissal
is a welcome development, which shows that the police have zero tolerance for
acts of indiscipline and lawlessness among their men.
“But, we call on the police to
institute criminal proceedings against him and others involved in the act of
criminality against our men.
“We have made this demand in
writing to the Director of DSS in Abia, who said he had made recommendation to
headquarters for disciplinary action against the operative.
“The director said the
recommendation had to be verified and approved by headquarters before action
could be taken.’’
Kazeem said that FRSC had also
written to the police command in the state seeking the arrest of the speaker,
his wife and the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident.
The speaker, Mr Chikwendu Kalu,
is alleged to have ordered the shooting of the FRSC officials, but he has
denied the allegation.
NAN recalls that the incident
occurred at Arungwa Junction (near Aba) on the Enugu-Port-Harcourt highway.
Kalu’s wife, Victoria, was said
to be travelling to Aba when the FRSC men flagged down her vehicle and
attempted to book her for seatbelt violation.
A heated argument ensued during
which she allegedly pounced on the road safety officials with the help of a
female DSS operative, who was travelling with her.
Eyewitnesses said that the woman
called her husband, who arrived at the scene and allegedly ordered his orderly
to shoot the FRSC officials.
When the speaker visited the
victims at the hospital the next day, he was said to have been denied access
into the ward where the FRSC officials were receiving treatment.
One of the wounded officials said
“I saw him at the scene. What if we had died, he would have come to see our
corpses.”
But, the speaker blamed the
incident on “over-zealousness’’ of the security officers involved.
“I strongly condemn any
over-zealousness on the side of any security personnel, be it anyone, not to
now talk of being the Police, FRSC, the Army and Department of State Services.
“I think I will be the last
person to encourage it because it doesn’t augur well with state and the country
at large,’’ he said.
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