JONATHAN'S CONVOY: Policemen And FRSC Officials Battle

olicemen
and some
officials of
the
Federal
Road
Safety
Corps
(FRSC)
yesterday clashed in Wuse Zone 2 in the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT).
The incident involved plain clothes and FRSC
officials who were on the road to clear it for the
convoy of President Goodluck Jonathan.
In the ensuing melee, an official of the FRSC was
shot while another was injured.
An eyewitness revealed that trouble started when
officials of the FRSC were ordered by the police to
leave their duty post around the Central Area where
President Jonathan’s convoy always pass to the
presidential villa from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport.
It was gathered that the policemen and FRSC
officials of the FRSC were mobilised to the area
ahead of the president’s convoy from the airport.
The alleged refusal of the FRSC officials to leave the
area which they claimed to be their duty post to
ensure traffic flow angered the policemen who were
led by a divisional police officer (DPO).
The angry policemen allegedly seized the Hilux van
belonging to the FRSC and arrested its occupants.
But other officials of the FRSC who got wind of the
news blocked the road at the intersection of Sultan
Abubakar Way and Olusegun Obasanjo Way at
Wuse Zone 2 insisting that their officials and vehicle
be released by the policemen.
“As they were arguing, a senior police officer used
his gun to hit an officer of the FRSC on the head and
another policeman started shooting into the air and
suddenly I saw one official of FRSC down. That is
when we started running for our lives,” the
eyewitness said.
Another eyewitness said the police were another
shot the official four times. “They came from
Bolingo Hotel area where the president’s usually
pass from the airport and started shouting at the
FRSC men who barricaded the road with their trucks
and then shot one of the FRSC men four times but I
don’t know if he is still alive, he said”.
At the scene of the clash, officials of FRSC were
seen taking the victims to hospital while men of the
Nigeria police wearing bullet-proof vests were
leaving the area.
It was learnt that the operation was carried out by
men of the Abuja Crimes Control Squad 44 (ACCOS
44).
Attempt to speak to the most senior officer of FRSC
at the scene yielded no result as he declined to
comment on the matter. One of the FRSC officials
later said that since the appointment of the new FCT
police commissioner, Femi Ogunbayode, a directive
was given to the FRSC by the police to leave the
streets of Abuja for the highways outside the
Federal Capital City for their operations.
The police high command refused to respond to
enquiries by our correspondent on the matter.
Source: Leadership