Abia State Police Command says it arrested an Amakama Oloko community in Umuahia South LGA vigilante commander who beat up a police officer on duty and grabbed his gun.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Maureen Chinaka, the command has also received a complaint from a Canadian returnee of threats by the vigilante over domestic issues.
The PPRO said, “We have confirmed the report of the molestation of police personnel in Amakama Olokoro and the arrest of the suspect.
“One pump action rifle as well as the AK 47 rifle belonging to the police officer were recovered, while the suspects have since been arraigned before the court.
Recalling what happened, the Canadian returnee, Mr Chidiebere Eluwa, from the Amakama community in Umuahia South Local Government Area, called for the disbandment of a group parading itself as a local vigilante in the community.
Eluwa alleged that the group had become a source of fear and trepidation for the people and accused the group of becoming a willing tool of oppression against hapless folks.
According to him, the group attacked him at the invitation of his nephews when he attempted to evict them from his father’s house.
His nephews are the sons of his sister, who have been living in his father’s house for many years after his sister had issues with her husband and had become a source of discomfort both to his aged father and their mother, hence his decision to eject them from the house for peace to reign.
Eluwa said, “I came back from Canada just to make sure that there is peace in my father’s house as the only son. I gave money to my nephews to rent an apartment elsewhere so that my father, who is very old, and my sister, who is their mother, could have peace,” stating that he decided to report them to the Area Police Command Umuahia, where he was assigned five policemen to arrest them.
However, on sighting the police, he said, “They took to their heels while the policemen went after them, leaving only one police officer with their patrol van.”
He disclosed that one of his fleeing nephews notified the community vigilante group, which arrived at the scene with automatic rifles and descended on the policeman keeping the police patrol van.
“When these guys came, they met the policeman with the police truck, beat him blue and black, and grabbed his gun. While on their way back to the scene, the other policemen pursuing my nephews came back to the aid of their colleague.
“By then, some of the vigilante group had made away with the AK 47 of the policeman, but they were able to wrestle the vigilante commander to the ground and insisted that the commander would not be freed until the AK 47 was returned.
“It took about two hours for the police gun to be returned. The vigilante commander was later picked up, but my nephews and others are still at large.”
Eluwa called for a thorough search of the house of the vigilante commander, stating, ‘The community has been living in fear of this group, and they are afraid to talk.’
He, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police to come to the aid of the community and investigate the activities of the said vigilante group.
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