Police, Army Clash Over Assault, Extortion

What would have been a
bloodbath in Awka, Anambra State was averted last Thursday following a fight that ensued between policemen and the military officers.
Trouble allegedly started at the popular Aroma junction in Awka where policemen posted to the round about to check traffic decided to stop every motor cycle operator (Okada) and demand 1,000 naira each for not wearing helmet.
Unknown to then, when a military man who was riding a motor cycle got to the point they stopped him and demanded that he should park well, when he was about doing so, one policeman hit him thinking he was running away.
The military man (names withheld) parked the ‘okada’ and introduced himself, but was assaulted by the policemen who asked him to kneel down. The military man refused and made contact to his superiors.
The leader of the Police Squad stationed at Aroma, Laz Ebehe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) molested and assaulted reporters who trooped out to witness the scenario.
The ‘okada’ operators stormed the arena in protest of the fee being demanded by the policemen at Aroma who they claimed, harass and intimidate them with their guns.
When the state police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka was contacted on the incident, he quickly told the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), in charge of operations Olafimihen Adoye, who immediately contacted the divisional police Officer in charge of B Division Maikudi Shehu (CSP).

From Left: Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (Nscdc) Enugu State, Mr Nathaniel Ubong, representative of Enugu State Government, Mr Chime Richard and representative of Commandant, Nigerian Army 82 Garrison, Capt. Umar Garba, at the Nscdc 2014 Security Summit in Enugu last Friday. Photo: NAN