…Leave us out of it – Abia govt
…No, govt should be involved – FENRAD
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Middle aged man, Mr Victor Okpe from Okaiuga Nkwoegwu, in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, cries for justice, two years after his Jeep was crushed by a lorry being chased by revenue agents.
The incident, according to him occured on August 1, 2022, few metres to the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC Mega filling station at Nkwoegwu axis of the Enugu Port Harcourt Expressway.
Narrating his ordeals to our Correspondent, the victim, a former staff of the defunct National Electricity Power Authority, NEPA, said he had relocated from Aba after he was laid off following the sale of NEPA by the Federal Government.
He said that on the fateful day, he parked his car far away from the shoulder of the dual carriage way when suddenly a truck coming from Northern region into Umuahia, was being chased by revenue agents who had mounted a road block near the area.
According to him, the driver was trying to dodge the road barriers placed by the touts who employed all manner of crude means to stop their targets, when the lorry veered off from the highway and rammed into his Jeep parked off the road.
He said he later confronted the revenue agents and got them arrested by the police.
According to him, after the “touts were arrested,” an Aide to the main Contractor who engaged the revenue agents approached him for settlement.
He identified the said Aide as one Prince Kodo who he said came with some prominent men in the community and pleaded with him to accept settlement outside police.
Okpe said after much discussions, they settled that he would be paid N1.5 million to fix back his badly damaged jeep.
However, he said when he discovered that the said Kodo was not forthcoming as agreed, he decided to confront his Principal, Hon. Kelechi Nwakodo, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP House of Assembly candidate for Umuahia East state constituency in the 2023 election.
According to him, Hon. Nwakodo the son of ex-Gov Okezie Ikpeazu’s late Chief of Staff, Chief Chijioke Nwakodo, had promised to get back to him but also was not forthcoming, hence his decision to return to the Police.
He lamented that since then, nothing tangible has come out of it, adding that the jeep which was towed to a panel beater has been deteriorating as days go by.
“Before the election last year, Hon. Kelechi Nwakodo promised to get back to me but since then he has not called back. He behaves as if he is above the law. This matter was duly reported to the Area Command Police Umuahia. They towed the vehicle and abandoned it at the panel beater’s workshop. My car is completely gone because it has continued to depreciate at the workshop where it was parked”, Okpe agonised.
He, therefore, appealed to the Police Authorities as well as the State Government to come to his rescue.
“I beg the State Government that gave him the contract to come to my rescue. How will I just lose my car without any compensation? I want Government to investigate this and punish all those who inflicted plains on innocent citizens under the guise of revenue drive during the past administration.
“A popular man of God, Rev. Stone, had accident on that same road and almost died because of the activities of touts engaged by the former administration in the state as revenue agents. They brought sorrow to may hapless citizens.”
Responding though after several efforts, Nwakodo confirmed the incidence but said he had tried to settle it with the victim.
He said he spent so much money during the elections, and was finding it not too easy to meet with the demands of the victim.
Efforts by our Correspondent to reach out to both sides were unsuccessful as Nwakodo and his Aide never showed up even after suggesting venue and time.
When contacted, Abia State Government advised both parties to settle, arguing that the current administration will not be made to bear the consequences of an action by a non-government official.
Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, who spoke for Government, said the parties should endeavour to resolve it amicably.
“They should go and settle. It didn’t happen in the life of this administration. To the best of my knowledge, whatever arrangement we had with that government does not exist now.
“Yes Government is a continum but there are certain things that die with an administration. So, the people involved should come together and look for amicable way to settle it.
“They shouldn’t involve this Government. It has nothing absolutely to do with the current administration because the person involved is not an agent of government anymore. He was not an official of Government.
“We don’t want to be associated or bear the burden of those who did not play by the rules. Those involved are private individuals. It absolutely has nothing to do with government. Let the victim with the help of police negotiate on how best to settle the matter.”
Efforts to get a response from police were not successful as the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Maureen Chinaka, did not pick calls put across to her.
As at the time of filing this report, she was yet to respond to a text message sent to her phone.
However, rights group, Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), has urged the victim to take legal action if every effort to get justice had failed.
Executive Director of FENRAD, Comrade Nnanna Nwafor, said that the innocent victim should not be abandoned or left to bear the damage alone.
He further argued that Government should not wash its hands off the matter but be fully involved as the contractor was engaged by the previous administration as a revenue agent, hence, it should also be part of the gains and losses of the contract.
