Mob attack police boss in Aba over traders’ death

The Divisional Crime Officer in charge of Ariaria Police Division Aba, Abia State, simply identified as Mr. Mohammed, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, narrowly escaped lynching by an irate mob over alleged killing of traders.

The incident, which occurred on Friday, disrupted business activities around the market and some parts of Faulks road, according to eyewitnesses.

Meanwhile, the Abia State Police Command has denied rumours making the rounds that the incident occurred as a result of an alleged killing of three Biafran activists by security agents .

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According to police, the incident had nothing to do with Biafra activists contrary to insinuations in some quarters.

The police command explained that one person was shot when men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, which raided an area suspected to be hard drug market around Ariaria, came under attack.

Speaking with our correspondent in Umuahia, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Udeviotu Onyeke, said when operatives of NDLEA raided the said drug market, they were resisted.

He said the NDLEA operatives later reinforced and stormed the area again but were still resisted resulting into clashes during which the said victim was shot.

According the PPRO, a mob later bundled the corpse of the victim in a wheel barrow and headed for Ariaria Police Station in protest.

He said efforts made by the DCO to calm the irate mob proved abortive as he was shoved aside and beaten by the surging crowd.

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Onyeke added that as the DCO was trying to explain to them that it was not the police that raided the market, they descended on him, gave him a deep machete cut in the head.

He said the DCO slumped and became unconscious.

The police spokesman alleged that the mob snatched the DCO’s riffle and phones and attempted to burn down the police station but were repelled following quick reinforcement by the Aba Area Commander .

According to Onyeke, DCO was revived by medical workers in a hospital.

“When the Area Commander was told that the mob had attacked the DCO, he quickly mobilised his men and came to the police station. Solders also came to help quell the situation,” he said.

The PPRO said the irate mob later attacked a Police post at Urata area of the commercial city, where they burnt two vehicles.

Onyeke stressed that no arrests had so far been made, adding that police had ordered a thorough investigation into the crisis with a view to fishing out those behind it.

He appealed to Aba residents to reject any incitement against security agents, wondering why law enforcement agents would become targets of attacks by those they were working to protect.

Onyeke said once investigations into the matter were concluded, those found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

But the outlawed Radio Biafra, monitored in Aba, gave a different version of the scenario, broadcasting that “three innocent Biafran activists” were shot by Nigerian soldiers.

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The  anchor person, one Nnamdi Kanu, had called on the  International community to carry out investigations into the alleged “unwarranted killings of Biafran freedom fighters,”  threatening that if nothing was done to stop the incessant attacks on Biafran protagonists by the Nigerian security agents, the group would go on reprisals.

But another security source, which spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authourised to comment on the matter, blamed the crisis on the radio station, which it said was instigating  the public against security agencies through its inciting and  hate comments.