Keke drivers, NSCDC Road Safety bicker over shooting

Written by AUGUSTINA Nwachukwu Aftermath of the alleged shooting of keke drivers by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday during a peaceful protest against what they described as subjugations/harassment on them by the corps, keke operators have reiterated their plea on the government to look into the matter and warn Federal Road Safety Commission and Civil Defence to leave them alone and allow them go about their daily businesses. An eye witness of the alleged Friday shooting by Civil Defence described the shooting of keke drivers as madness, saying that “this has shown to be madness on the side of the Civil Defence Officers as they are violating the Rule of Law, because the keke drivers were only protesting against their subjugations/harassment and not inflicting harm on any one and so nothing called for the shooting of the keke drivers.” Speaking to Nigeria Moment a keke operator who craved anonymity stated that Civil Defence and Road Safety are bent on frustrating them through harassment and intimidation, and sometimes extortion. Corroborating, Mr. Magnus, a keke operator, said that Road Safety and Civil Defence see them as their money bags all the time. “They depend on us for their daily bread. There is never a time Road Safety will stop us and will not find one fault or the other on us. For instance, I was driving along Okigwe Road after Federal Girls' College, I was not carrying anyone in front and they stopped me asking me for my papers which I quickly brought out, because all my papers are complete. Seeing that they have nothing to fault me for, one of them told me that he saw me when I dropped somebody in front when I saw them. I told them that it was not possible because I was carrying only two passengers and there was no way I could have dropped one when I still had one vacant seat at the back. They said that I was arguing with them and insisted to take me to their office or pay a fine of five thousand naira for 'insulting an official on duty'.” Continuing, Mr. Magnus stated that that infuriated him and he forcefully snatched his papers from one of them and headed to his keke when they blocked him with their van. He called on the state government to look into the incessant harassment on them by the Road Safety. In a similar development another keke operator, Mr. Cyracus Edeh who narrated his sad ordeal with Road Safety officials to Nigeria Moment stated that it was only along Okigwe Road that Road Safety mount their check point to extort money from them because, according to him, Okigwe Road is not in the heart of the town and they pretend to be doing their work while they are indiscriminately extorting money from them. “It is rare you see them at World Bank, Port Harcourt Road and some other places. They always come to stage their check point along Okigwe Road to harass us. I was happy with the protest we did because left for me I have always wanted a means to bring the incessant and indiscriminate harassment of Road Safety officials to the public notice and for the state government to come to our rescue. Federal Road Safety Commission used to be an impartial parastatal who when you see them on the road every driver conducts his/herself very well because once you are found guilty of an offence, you would be treated according to the stipulation of the law. But today, it is something else. “I was going from Whetheral to Orji, at Civil Defence junction where Road Safety always mount their check point they stopped me and as I was talking with them when they sighted from afar a keke that was carrying a passenger in front. They signaled to the driver to stop and one of them saw that the passenger in front was someone he knows, they exchanged pleasantries and they waved the driver to go. As if he read my mind, he turned and asked me what I am looking at and then told me to go. Since then, I realize that the saying that 'the law is no respecter of person(s) is not for the Road Safety.” But speaking to Nigeria Moment, the Public Relations Officer, NSCDC, Mr. Chimeziri Lowell (ASC1), said that keke drivers went on protest because Road Safety were discharging their legal duty alleging that they were illegally extorted. Asked if NSCDC is in any form of partnership with FRSC which makes FRSC to pack their impounded goods with the NSCDC he said: “There is no partnership of any sort. FRSC and NSCDC are both federal parastatals serving the same course. We have synergy among ourselves (all uniformed officials), and not just for FRSC only. “By virtue of proximity, Road Safety's bit is closer to us and we are authorized to keep their exhibits from the Imo State Command of FRSC.” On whether there was shooting in the protest by the keke drivers he said: “Yes there was shooting, but we were shooting in the air to disperse the mob who almost invaded us. As civil defenders, we defend the citizenry. We applied every possible means to calm them down but they refused to be calmed down. We used dialogue, address and even tear gas and they insisted and was surging forward. So we resorted to firing gun in the air. We didn't shoot anybody and anybody that was injured was not from our gun. Maybe that could have happened while they were trying to run when we were shooting in the air.” Corroborating, the Ag. PRO Federal Road Safety, Imo State Area Command, Mr. C.Y. Okemiri, stated that they have no problems with keke drivers but were doing their legitimate and lawful duty. He therefore called on keke operators to do the necessary things to avoid what they (keke operators) term as harassment. “We are doing our legitimate and lawful duty. We have no problems with keke operators. Everybody knows that they are not law abiding. They violate all the road rules and regulations; they carry over load, carry passengers in front, many of them don't have driving license and those that have, have expired ones.” Mr. Okemiri further stated that nobody was shot as claimed by keke drivers stressing that if anybody was shot, they should present the person. “Nobody was shot. If anybody was shot, who is the person, where is he? Is he in the hospital or mortuary? And if yes which hospital is the person(s).” He continued: “Civil Defence is like us. Mind you, offenders do not pay cash to FRSC. We have no backyard business with Civil Defence. There is nothing like partnership. We keep our impounded goods with NSCDC and that didn't start today. So whoever says we have partnership with NSCDC is their own personal opinion.” - See more at: http://themoment.com.ng/national/item/3904-keke-drivers-nscdc-road-safety-bicker-over-shooting#sthash.MTLzS8nV.dpuf

Looming war in Imo APGA, Ihenacho returns, to lock horns with Okey Ezeh, Agbaso agai

By COLLINS Ughalaa Nigerians, nay, the people of Imo State, would be treated to a theatre of war as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) spoils for war, and to batter once more the already battered party. The battle ground is the congresses, beginning from the Ward Congress which will hold on Saturday, 16 May, 2015, Local Government Congress 20 May, 2015, State Congress 23 May, 2015 and National Congress in June. And just like the battle of the general elections which was a fatal battle that has threatened the existence of the party, especially in Imo State, the congress battle is the battle for the soul of APGA. If the party gets it right this time, there would be hope that the party would survive the 2015 change tsunami; but if the party fails like it failed in the general elections, then we would be ready for a requiem service for the party. This is even as sources in the party said that Captain would return to the state yesterday (Tuesday) from his overseas trip ahead of the congresses. Recall that Captain travelled overseas after the governorship election where he scratched a miserly 28,000 votes. Other sources in the party who spoke to Nigeria Moment yesterday said that Captain's faction sensing that they would be defeated at the congresses by the people of the party who are tired of their leadership, have resorted to writing the results of the congresses to be forwarded to their ally at the national headquarters for approval. This was confirmed by other members of the party in other local governments in the state who called to express fear that the outcome of the congress might not be the true expression of the wishes of the members of the party who are yearning for a quick fix and a return of the party to its lost glory. They said some members of a faction of the party had compiled lists for the congresses and forwarded same to their leader in Owerri, expressing worry that such action was capable of sending the party into oblivion. Similarly, a leader of the party in Owerri, Mr. Ibegbulem, has called on the leaders of the party to ensure that it is not further weakened or placed in a more precarious position, saying that the best option for the party is to embrace all factions and work together in the spirit of the reconciliation that is sweeping across the party in recent time. He warned those writing lists of the congress secretly to desist from doing so and come together to work like a united one family, stressing that going ahead with their plans would force the aggrieved members to return to the trenches. He said that going back to the trenches should be the worst scenario the party should pray and guard against, adding that it is not good for the party. He said: “APGA had a problem due to factionalization, and we lost the election because of it. Now some people want to do the congress underground. We should have one APGA. Some people want to write the result underground. If this happens everybody would go back to the trenches. That was what they did last year that landed us into court and they should not do it again. “It is in the best interest of the party that they carry everybody along. Let them carry everybody, and the party would do well, so that we can have one APGA. The congress could harmonized and the position shared equitably among the factions so that we can have one house and live like one people”. The tone of the congress war was disclosed recently when during a meeting of the State Working Committee where Captain and his loyalists, many of whom were CICO members, made effort to remove the state chairman, Barr Peter Ezeobi, and to replace him with Barr Chudi Onuzo who was replaced by Ezeobi last year when Captain joined the party. The move to remove Ezeobi failed when some leaders of the party saw the handwriting on the wall and concluded that the best strategy to save Ezeobi from the shameful removal was to call off the meeting, particularly, when the meeting procedure was not being recorded. Thus the state chairman rose up and called off the meeting and he left immediately with the members of the SWC. Captain had accused Ezeobi of stabbing him in the back during the election by supporting the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha. But some leaders of the party had also accused Ihenacho of selling out in the middle of the election, saying that he never supported the party. But Ibegbulem called on the six principal leaders of the party: the state chairman, the secretary, the deputy chairman and the three zonal chairmen of the party to resign their positions, pointing out that they led the party to failure in the last general elections. According to him, and in what he termed his personal opinion, he said that the six principal leaders of the party who should resign have become the face of failure in the party, and should therefore give way for fresh blood to be injected into the party. He also said that for the first time in the history of the party, it scored zero, scoring below the number of voided votes in an election, whereas the party used to be hot contender in the elections in the state. He said: “The State Chairman, Deputy, Secretary and three zonal chairmen of the party should resign let's have a new face. They are the face of failure in the party. For the first time in the history of Imo we scored zero. In the governorship we scored less than the number of voided votes. So there should be no excuse for them. They should all resign because they led us to failure. In 2003 Agbaso won the election; in 2011 Okorocha won, and prior to that Ezekiel Izuogu battled very well for the seat with Udenwa. In UK the leaders of the three parties that failed in the elections resigned. I don't know why our own should be different. They should resign.” He pointed out that Captain has moved on after the governorship election, a comment that suggested he might not be interested in the coming congress. He said: “Even Captain said he has moved on and he even prayed for us, that God should help us to be in a position to run an elaborate governorship campaign without borrowing”, suggesting also he did not borrow money for the election. He called on Okey Ezeh, whom he said is showing interest in the congress, to ensure that he does not do the same things that led the party to failure. He stressed that Okey Ezeh should not indulge in any acts of impunity by falling to the temptation of writing the results of the election. - See more at: http://themoment.com.ng/national/item/3900-looming-war-in-imo-apga-ihenacho-returns-to-lock-horns-with-okey-ezeh-agbaso-again#sthash.9P1LDt9J.dpuf

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