Governor Umahi’s Aide Assaults FRSC Official For Delaying Convoy

A security aide to Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State on Saturday allegedly assaulted a Federal Road Safety Corps officer for delaying the governor’s convoy at a checkpoint.

It was learnt that the FRSC set up the checkpoint to prevent unauthorised access to the Eagle Square, the venue of the Peoples Democratic Party’s convention.

The FRSC officer simply identified as Soji was reportedly slapped by an unidentified security officer in the governor’s convoy.

Newsmen, who got to the checkpoint shortly after the altercation, observed that some operatives, comprising policemen, FRSC and Vehicle Inspection Officers, had blocked part of the Shehu Shagari Way with their vehicles to restrict access to the convention ground.

It was learnt that on getting to the blockade, the governor’s security aides asked the FRSC officers to create a path for their convoy, but they reportedly got involved in an argument with Soji who was said to have been slapped by a security aide to Umahi.

An eyewitness stated that Soji wanted to engage his attacker in fisticuffs but was prevailed upon by his colleagues.

He was said to have subsequently left the scene in anger.

“We were all annoyed by the incident because the governor’s security aides were not professional in the way they addressed us,” a police officer, who did not want his name in print, told newsmen.

But the FRSC spokesman, Bisi Kazeem, said no official report had been made by the concerned officer.

“We don’t have any official report on the incident yet,” he said on Sunday.

Newsmen also observed on Saturday that security personnel deployed in the convention ground extorted money from individuals who had no accreditation to the PDP convention.

A number of party faithful were seen squeezing cash into the palms of a policeman who then directed his colleagues to give them passage to the convention venue.

“If you want to pass, you have to ‘see’ us, no be grammar we wan chop,” our correspondent overheard the policeman telling a man in a Toyota Camry car who was pleading with him for free passage.

The driver later rolled some wads of naira notes which he passed to the police officer.