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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
There was commotion in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, when the anti-kidnapping team of the police command stormed the premises of ABC Transport Company and whisked away some staff over delayed delivery of products worth N420, 000. The incident, which occurred on November 10, caused pandemonium as passengers and staff of the company scampered for safety when the armed security men, in a commando-style, attempted to arrest the manager for alleged failure to honour their invitation.
Police sources said they stormed the premises as a result of the failure of ABC management to come and answer to an allegation by their customer regarding missing goods worth about N57million and said to be delivered to Calabar through ABC Cargo Express service.
It was learnt that Collins Uche had petitioned the commissioner of police, through his counsel, alleging that sometime in February 2022, he approached ABC Cargo Express in Lagos to deliver his 1,367 cartons of cosmetics valued at N57million to Calabar.
Uche was said to have cried to the ABC management that the undue delay in delivering his goods for over eight months had put his business and that of his clients in huge financial debts, claiming that he borrowed money from banks to finance the business.
He said in spite of all entreaties to ABC, they kept playing hide-and-seek over the whereabouts of the remaining cartons of goods, leading to his resort to the police to assist in recovering his products which he had paid for its delivery. He alleged that about 12 cartons worth N420, 500 were yet to be delivered. It was based on the petition and the attitude of ABC management that the operatives invited the manager for questioning.
A witness said immediately the police arrived at the premises, they went straight to the office of the branch manager, Mr. Benedict Akagha, and ordered him to follow them to the station for interrogation, but the manager fumed and refused to follow the operatives.
However, the police team insisted that the manager must go with them and there was altercations between the staff of the company, some passengers and operatives, leading to obstruction of police operation.
The witness alleged that some ABC staff and passengers actually assaulted the team lead, Roberts Enang, and one other officer, which prompted the police to call for re-enforcement and subsequently, they responded violently, using machetes and sticks to beat staff of the company before finally arresting the manager and seven others.
Victim narrates ordeals
Narrating his ordeal, the ABC transport manager, Mr. Benedict Akagha, said some people in black uniform stormed his office about 9am on Thursday, November 14, 2l and insisted on taking him away, but he objected because he didn’t know whether they were security officers or not.
According to him, when the team was bent on taking him away, he demanded for any form of identification to be sure of who they were and where he was being taken to, yet they refused and tried to force him, leading to his raising the alarm which attracted passers-by, neigbhours and travelers to the premises.
He said that while probing further to know his offence, the team told him that there was a robbery petition case against him, written by one Uche, a customer. He added that he does not know the petitioner neither does the petitioner know him from Adam. He explained that while the altercations were going on, the team called for re-enforcement and it was when the second team arrive that it dawned on him that there were actually security operatives and he calmed down.
According to him, their ordeals started when the second team arrived at the premises well-armed and started beating people indiscriminately and in the process inflicted injuries on many of my staffs and some people who came to rescue them.
He said: “I resisted arrest initially because in this era of kidnapping, you don’t just follow people when they enter your premises. But eventually, eight of us were bundled into their waiting vehicles to their office at Culture Centre. There, we were dumped into a cell with hardened criminals, tortured and manhandled. We were striped and left with only boxers. We were made to lie down on bare floor outside. We were meted with all sorts of inhuman treatment for an offence we didn’t know about. We saw hell in their hands.
“I suspect that it was when one of these human rights groups called the police authourities that we were brought out from the cell and kept behind bars until we were eventually released that same day after they had interrogated us. Even during interrogation, we were still being beaten.
“It was about 9pm on that day that they showed me the petition dated May 2022 and stated something about N57million worth of goods. In the petition, the petitioner is claiming that 12 cartons of the products sent through ABC Cargo Express are yet to be delivered.
“From what I gathered, the petitioner has been in constant communication with the Cargo Express group through customer care service unit straight to Lagos. Their communication does not pass through my office, so I am not aware of any of such transactions. And according to the cargo unit, they said they have been negotiating with the petitioner and have offered him options on how to settle the remaining cartons of goods worth about N400, 000.
“I learnt that the company even agreed to buy those same particular products when they saw it in Lagos and send to him, he bluntly refused and demanded for N5million as damages. So, you can see the kind of justice police tried to settle in such a violent way.
“And let me tell you too that nobody molested the team when they arrived at our premises. We only demanded to know who they were before we could follow them out. The way and manner the police operated within our premises calls for question about the type of security personnel we have in this country.
Condemning the attack in a statement dated November 14, the executive director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, described the police conduct as unlawful and unprofessional even as the Police Act 2020 expressly prohibits police officers dabbling into civil matters such as this.
Explaining that the conduct of the police officers amounted to an unjustifiable act of unprovoked aggression and display of raw power, Nwanguma argued that the delay of a weigh bill could have been resolved through civil means. According to him, it should not call for violence, assault, abuse of firearms and arrest and detention of workers of the company.
The statement read in part: “The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) condemns the invasion of the offices of ABC Transport Company along Eta Agbo Street in Calabar, Cross River State and the unprovoked brutal attacks on staff of the transport company and their neighbors by operatives of the anti-kidnapping unit of the Nigeria Police in Calabar on Thursday November 10, 2022.
“After inflicting severe damage on property and injuries on several staff and others within the scene, the Anti-Kidnapping officers arrested the Manager and some other staff of the ABC Transport service and detained them at their station. The attack on the staff of the company and others amount to gross violation of their fundamental rights to fair hearing, liberty, personal safety and human dignity. The continued exhibition of reckless show of power, abuse and violence indicate that the lessons of #EndSARS are lost on many police officers who continue to revel in impunity.”
The group called on the Inspector General of Police to order the immediate release of the arrested staff of ABC Transport and others, ensure compensations and remedies for the victims including medical treatment for those wounded. The group further demanded a public apology from the Police, as well as to identify and arrest all the personnel involved for investigation and appropriate punishment be meted out.
The police public relations officer in the state, Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident, saying it was quite unfortunate that the police officers who went there to carry out their official duty were manhandled by staff of the transport company.
She said: “The people who perpetrated the act have written a letter of apology. We hope they will also resolve the matter with the petitioner in due time because the items in question that were weigh billed is worth N57 million.”
