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N20 bribe causes Hausa/Igbo clashes in Onitsha •1 shot dead by police •Hausas flee to Asaba

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Written by Alphonsus Agborh, Asaba Thursday, 09 February 2012

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THE commercial city of Onitsha was, on Thursday, in turmoil as an angry mob took over the city protesting against the killing of a bus driver suspected to be a member of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) by policemen on account of his refusal to give N20 at a checkpoint.

The incident occurred when the driver of a Coaster bus with registration number AA 768AHD, identified as Edwin, drove away from a checkpoint by ABS junction, and was pursued by one of the policemen who caught him, deflated the tyres of the bus and thereafter shot him in 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 former trip and drove away. But we did not know that one of them was following us on motorcycle and he intercepted us and shot my oga in the neck and immediately escaped.”

It was gathered that a passenger on the bus sustained bullet wounds, when the policeman opened fire on the bus before he escaped.

The situation took a dangerous turn when angry mob, comprising drivers and okada riders, went on the rampage with the corpse of the driver, attacking Hausas and looting their shops in reprisal.

The bus, which was said to be fully loaded with passengers, took off from Nkpor junction and was heading to the Ose Main market, Onitsha, when the incident happened.

One of the passengers, who gave her name as Ifeoma Obi told the Nigerian Tribune that the deceased did not do anything that warranted his being killed, adding, “it was just sheer wickedness on the part 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 tyres of the vehicle, the driver had to stop; a situation she said helped the killer cop to shoot at the deceased from a close range, shattering the glass of the vehicle.

The situation took an ethnic coloration as drivers and other hoodlums in the commercial city went on the rampage, baying for the blood of Hausas on the grounds that the policeman who shot the deceased was Hausa.

The situation also escalated when the angry mob descended on the police team sent by the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Muhtari Ibrahim, to 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, as the angry mob descended on him when he led his men to the scene of the incident .

The angry mob also unleashed their venom in different parts of the commercial city hunting for Hausa people which led to many of them taking refuge at the Central Police Station and other police stations within the city, with many others around the Bridge head crossed over to Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Reacting to the development, the new Igbo leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, advised members of MASSOB not to touch any Hausa but should dismantle every police checkpoint within the zone with immediate effect.

According to Chief Uwazuruike, who spoke through his second in command, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, the dismantling of police checkpoints became imperative at a time when the security of Ndigbo can no longer be guaranteed, even in their land.

“For an Hausa policeman to shoot 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 checkpoints within the zone,” he said.

When contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim, said the killer cop had been arrested and would soon undergo orderly room trial and prosecution and called on the rampaging mob to calm down as efforts to settle the matter had commenced.

Meanwhile, there was stampede in Asaba, as northerners in Onitsha, Anambra State, fled into the town as a result of attack on them by persons suspected to be members of MASSOB.

Tension was high in Abraka market populated by northerners and other parts of the town as people took to their heels to avoid any attack.

Several of them who escaped with wounds from Onitsha are now taking refuge at the B Division of the Nigeria Police in Okwe, Asaba.

The Delta State Police spokesman, DSP Charles Muka, who confirmed the report, said the command had deployed its men to strategic locations in Asaba to contain the situation, refuting the rumour that Hausas and Igbos were fighting in Asaba.

But Delta State police spokesman, Mr Muka, told newsmen that calm had been restored to Asaba.

“There was panic movement from Onitsha into Asaba because of the violence there. We have posted our men to secure the entire city and as I am speaking to you, vehicular traffic is moving on the expressway. I am in the Hausa Quarters and there has been no incident there,” he said.

However, he confirmed that his office had not been briefed about the violence that erupted in the town.

A police source said four persons were killed in Onitsha as a result of the violence, while a police/army team had been deployed in the trouble spots.

Igbo leaders had also intervened, while some northerners in the troubled area hade been moved to the army barracks in the commercial city.

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