Serious Riot In Onitsha Now.

The fragile peace in the commercial city of
Onitsha was yesterday disrupted as
residents took to the streets in protest of
the killing of a bus driver suspected to be a
member of the Movement of the
Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra
(MASSOB) by policemen in one of the illegal
checkpoints.
According to an eyewitness account, the
incident occurred when driver of a coaster
bus with registration number AA 768AHD,
simply identified as Edwin, escaped a
checkpoint by ABS junction, and was
pursued by one of the policemen who
caught up with him and deflated his tires
and subsequently shot him on the neck,
killing him instantly.
The conductor of the bus, Samuel Ekwueme,
who was weeping profusely, said that the
driver, gave the policemen N20 which they
refused and insisted that he should give
them N50, “my oga said that he had paid in
the previous trip and drove off but we did
not know that one of them was following us
on a motorbike and he intercepted us and
shot my oga on the neck and quickly
escaped”.
It was gathered that another passenger in
the bus sustained bullet wounds when the
trigger happy cop opened fire on the bus
before he escaped.
The situation however took a dangerous
turn when the angry mob comprising of
drivers and okada riders, went on a
rampage with the corpse of the driver ,
attacking Hausas and looting their shops in
possible reprisal.
The bus was said to be fully loaded with
passengers who took off from Nkpor
junction and was heading to the Ose Main
market, Onitsha when the incident
happened as the passengers scampered for
safety.
One of the passengers who gave her name
as Ifeoma Obi told The Nation that the
deceased did not do anything that
warranted his murder, adding “its was just
pure wickedness on the side of the
policeman who because of just N20 wasted
this young man’s life”
She also said that when the policeman first
shot at the tires of the vehicle, the deceased
who was the driver could not move again, a
situation she said helped the killer cop to
shoot at the deceased from closed range,
shattering the glass of the vehicle.
However, the situation took an ethnic
coloration as drivers and other hoodlums in
the commercial city went on rampage
demanding the elimination of Hausa people
on the ground that the policeman who shot
the deceased was a Hausa man.
The situation also escalated when the angry
mob descended on the police team earlier
sent by the Anambra state Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Muhtari Ibrahim to reach and
appeal to the rampaging crowd which led to
the policemen retreating to avoid further
casualties.
It was gathered that the Divisional Police
Officer in charge of Central Police Station, Mr.
Abdul Yusuf escaped death by the whiskers
when the angry mob descended on him
when he led his men to the scene of the
incident.
The angry mob also went on the rampage in
different parts of the commercial city
hunting for Hausa people who led to many
of them taking refuge at the Central Police
Station, CPS and other police stations within
the city, with many others around the
Bridgehead crossing over to Asaba, the Delta
state capital.
Reacting to the Development, the new Igbo
leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurike advised the
members of the Movement for the
Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra,
MASSOB not to touch any Hausa people buts
should dismantle every police check points
within the area with immediate effect.
According to Chief Uwazurike who spoke
through his second in command, Chief
Rommy Ezeonwuka, the dismantling of all
police check point became necessary at a
time when the safety of Ndigbo is no longer
safe even in their land.
“ For a Hausa policeman to kill an Igbo
driver here because of mere N20 shows that
the policeman is a Boko Haram member but
we have urged MASSOB members to leave
Hausa people alone because they are not
our problem, they should concentrate on
dismantling all police check points within
the area” he said.
Meanwhile when contacted, the Anambra
state Police Commissioner, Mr. Muhtari
Ibrahim said the killer cop had been
arrested and will soon undergo orderly
room trial and prosecution and called on the
rampaging crowd to calm down as efforts
to resolve the matter had commenced.