Clement Nnachi (Abakaliki)
Uneasy calm and horror engulfed passerby’s and residents of Onuebonyi axis of Abakaliki the Ebonyi State capital on Tuesday morning when an aggrieved Driver bite off the finger of a member of the State Task Force Team monitoring existence of illegal parks and swallowed it.
The victim identified as Mr Iboko Kenneth at the time of filing this report was receiving treatment at the Emergency Unit of Alex Ekwueme University Teaching hospital in the city while the driver escaped.
It was gathered that the incident occurred at Onuebonyi junction in Abakaliki metropolis when Officials of the State Ministry of Capital City Development and its Task Force Team on monitoring to ensure non-existence of illegal parks within the capital city .
The monitoring embarked upon by the Ministry and its Task Force was sequel to the relocation order by Ebonyi State Government directing all Mass Transit Operators and Transport Companies to relocate to a New Park known as Akubaraoha Central Park earmarked for them by the State Government.
Investigation revealed that the Task Force Team on getting to Onuebonyi junction (scene of the incident) saw some drivers still loading passengers which angered the Task Force Team.
An eye witness disclosed that trouble ensued when one of the Task Force members Mr Iboko Kenneth attempted to arrest one the defiant drivers and in the process the driver grabbed one of his fingers and bite it off.
“The driver swallowed the finger and escaped while his vehicle was impounded by the Task Force Team.
Reacting to the incident, the State Commissioner for Capital City Development, Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi described the incident as terrible and barbaric.
According to him, “it is very unfortunate that a driver can attack a law officer who is trying to organize the state to the point of chopping off his finger, this is terrible, unexpected and it is barbaric.
The Commissioner continued, “I want to plead with the motorists not to pull our legs because the taskforce are not weak, we do our job within the confines of the law, for a driver to chop-off a taskforce finger is unacceptable and I assure you that we will get to the root of the matter”
“We are not using Force, the problem is that some of the motorists are stubborn,I want to commend the Transport Companies for complying to the relocation order to the Central Park, if you go there now, the park is very peaceful, businesses are going on”
“As government, we are doing our best to fence the place and put internal roads and other social amenities, we have discovered with dismay that some drivers are bent on operating from the streets instead of doing the needful by joining their colleagues at the central park.
The Commissioner stated that the Team discovered that motorists were still loading illegally along Water Works road especially behind the Police checkpoints where over 10 buses were seen loading passengers to Enugu and Onitsha respectively.
Commenting on the arrest of Five Drivers by the Task Force Team, Commissioner Nwaebonyi insisted that the offenders would be arraigned in court for violating the relocation order .
