A young man identified as Ikechukwu Anigbo was reportedly killed and
burnt to death over the weekend around a relaxation centre in Apo
Mechanic Village, Abuja.
According to reports, the 32-year-old barber from Aku, Enugu State took a
bike and argument ensued between him and the motorcycyclist when he
paid. The man insisted his money is N60 instead of N50. It was alleged
that attracted his colleagues to the scene by shouting "thief". The mob
gathered and started beating Ikechukwu after which they set him ablaze.
Confirming the tragic incident, Mr. Ezema Virginius Chukwudike, the
taskforce chairman of Abuja Spares Dealers Association, Apo, said "The
mob that gathered following the alarm collected tyres from a vulcanising
workshop near the scene and set the deceased on fire"
The next day, angry Igbo men in Apo blocked the road and started
attacking any vehicle or Keke Napep with Hausa person or people who look
like Hausa. Fortunately, the police were able to stop the riot before
it escalated.
Speaking to Daily Trust, a friend of the deceased, Chukwudi Orji said he
learnt about Ikechuwu's death when he got home at about 11p.m.
"I saw the fire, but I did not know that someone was inside. There was
smoke everywhere; there was no way you would have known that there was
someone in the fire, except you were there or somebody told you about
it," he said.
"If I had known about it on time, I would have tried to save him because he was innocent," he added.
Speaking further, Mr Chukwudike said, "When news of the incident spread,
people became angry. They wondered why the motocyclists would burn an
innocent man. Even the man who voluntered to carry the corpse after he
had been killed, was chased away"
He said this is not the first time that motorcyclists are killing someone over a paltry sum of money.
"A similar thing happened in Kabusa, when a boy was stabbed because of
change. Another man was killed on Wumba road. The same change issue led
to the death of a man in Damagaza. In his case, after he was killed,
they kept him near a river until the next day," he said.
Chukwudike said the last time such an incident occurred in the area, the
traders protested and that it took the intervention of riot policemen
to bring the situation under control.
"Because the motorcyclists knew what they did, they boycotted this route
from Sunday evening until policemen were deployed to the area."
Azeez Akinola, Anigbo’s boss at the barbershop, corroborated Chukwudike
story, saying the attitude of motorcyclists in the area is a cause for
concern. Akinola who lives around the area where the late Anigbo lived,
said he and two other people rushed out of their houses when they
received news of the incident, but that the motorcyclists at Kabusa
junction refused to take them to the scene.
Akinola who had worked with Anigbo for more than four years in a small
barbershop at NEPA Junction, Apo, said it took them a longtime to find a
motorcycle to convey them.
He said when they arrived the scene, they saw several people with
sticks, but that they did not understand the magnitude of what had
happened until someone pointed to the corpse of Anigbo in the fire.
"I could not believe it. There were heaps of iron treads from the burnt tyres on his body," Akinola said amidst tears.
"He was very gentle," Akinola continued." If small wound touch am, he go
treat am for more than one week. I.K. can’t ride a bicycle, talk less
of motorcycle. Because of fear, he refused to learn driving despite the
fact that they were many people around to teach him," he said.
He said the matter was reported at the Apo Police Station, where he
wrote a statement before police officers took the corpse to a mortuary.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the FCT police command, ASP Anjuguri
Manzah said, "there was an early morning disagreement between two
opposing groups that could have resulted in a clash but it was averted
by the timely intervention of anti-riot police personnel."
Manzah said the FCT Commissioner of Police, Wilson Inalegwu, warned
people of the area to desist from violence at the wake of the
disagreement and promptly deployed police officers to the scene. The
commissioner assured residents of the area and other parts of FCT that
adequate measures have been deployed to contain the situation,
investigate and unravel the remote and underlying issues behind the
upheaval.
He reiterated that any attempt to jeopardise the existing peaceful and
serene atmosphere in the Federal Capital Territory will not be
tolerated. Though normalcy has returned to the area, the relative peace
enjoyed may not last for long if a lasting solution is not proffered.
Chukwudike said government should stop motorcyclists from arming
themselves with daggers.
"Why should government allow them to move around with daggers unchallenged?" he asked.
There are several versions of the incident, while some insist that the
late Anigbo did not commit any crime, some alleged that he attempted to
snatch the motorcycle he rode to the junction but was overpowered by the
motorcyclists. However, it is hoped that the police through their
investigation will be able to give a clearer picture of what actually
transpired.
Femi Fani-Kayode
