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George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
A businessman, Mr. Justice Eke, has been shot by a Policeman for allegedly allowing a N50 bribe he wanted to handover to him to drop on the ground in Owerri, Imo State.
The incident happened few hours is that the new State police Commissioner, Mr. Olaniyi Fafowora, warned that he would not to tolerate any form of extortion in the State.
Daily Sun learnt that the incident which occurred late Wednesday afternoon close to the Airport Junction on Owerri-Aba highway, left the driver bleeding profusely and he lost control of the vehicle which skidded off the road into the nearby bush.
According to a witness who spoke on the condition of anonymity ,said the police officer while escaping, cocked his gun and threatened to shoot anyone who attempted to attack him. But other drivers, passers-by ,and villagers who were angered by his action halted vehicular movement on the road for several hours and insisted that they would not leave until the injured man was taken to the hospital for medical attention.
The leader of the Mobile Squadron 88 team, Inspector Festus Omoruwa, was compelled by angry sympathizers to take the victim who was unconscious to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri. The victim, who later spoke to Daily Sun at the Emergency and Accident Ward of the medical centre, said that he was heading to a nearby market to sell fish when he was shot by the policeman.
According to the Eke , a native of Umuoye Enyiogwugwu Mbaise, the police team mounted checkpoint and had demanded a N50 (fifty naira) bribe from him: “I brought out the N50 and as my car was moving slowly, I handed him the money. Mistakenly, the money did not reach his hand before falling on the ground. To my surprise, this infuriated him as he ordered me to come down and pick up the money. You know, many vehicles were on line and moving slowly. I expected him to pick up the money. But, instead, he shot me almost at a close-range in the back of my chest.
“What saved my life was my seat, as the bullet pierced through the seat before hitting me. I thank God for everything. Without God I would have been a dead ,because of my own N50 which I gave out to the policeman”
Meanwhile, CP Olaniyi Fafowora, warned that officers of the command extorting money from motorists would be severely sanctioned: “I have resolved to deal with this old dilemma and I have also decided to reinforce monitoring teams to ensure that the alleged harassment of motorists in the state stops forthwith as long as I am in charge of this command.”
