Chief Fire Officer, Anambra State Fire Service, Mr. Martin Agbili (an engineer), has accused policemen of beating him black and blue for allegedly driving in front of the police headquarters.

Agbili said that he was beaten and his clothes torn right in the presence of his family. He said that the incident occurred in front of the police command on Friday, while in his official car.

He said: “I was driving my official car and my family members were with me. I was driving pass the front of the police headquarters. I was not the only one. Other private cars had driven pass. The policemen flagged me down; I introduced myself. I told one of them, Inspector Peter Samuel, that I was the Chief Fire Officer. He responded, ‘common fire service.’

“The policemen refused to allow me to drive pass. I picked my phone and called the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr. Mike Okoli. As I was waiting for his response, some of the policemen pounced on me. They repeatedly hit and slapped me. I stood without reacting; they pushed me around in front of my wife and kids. As they were beating me, they told me that they would show me that Fire Service was nothing.”

Agbili further explained that while some looked on helplessly as the policemen battered him, others pleaded with them to stop the beating.

He added: “People that witnessed the beating told them that what they were doing was wrong, especially since I had already introduced myself.”

When some Fire Service men heard what was going on, they rushed to the scene. The newcomers were also attacked. Agbili disclosed that just like him, his men’s clothes were also torn.

“After the officers had manhandled me and my men, the DCP came. The policemen suddenly disappeared. But I can recognise them anywhere, even though they were in mufti. Honestly, I least expected this insult and disgrace on me and Fire Service.”

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Haruna Mohammed, described Agbili’s allegations as mere lies.

He said: “The attention of the command was drawn to a write-up in the social media by one Engineer Agbili of Anambra State Fire Service department that on May 10th at night. He claimed to have been assaulted by policemen while driving pass front of the Commissioner of Police office. The publication is not only false, but totally misleading.

“The real fact in issue was that on that date, about 9p.m., Mr. Agbili drove his vehicle towards the barrier of the state command headquarters and insisted that he must drive pass through the barrier despite being told by the policemen on duty that motorists were not allowed to drive pass barrier at night due to security reasons.

“Instead of adhering to their explanation, the man became hostile and started raining insults on them. He threatened that he would teach them a lesson while his wife was shouting and video-recording them.

“Consequently, he called other Fire Service personnel, who came with a fire service truck and barricaded the road completely. They created a scene and serious traffic congestion at the junction, which actually leads to the Governor’s Lodge. It took the intervention of the DCP, in charge of operations, to restore order. The DCP cautioned the man, before he ordered his men to remove the fire truck from the road.

“The command wondered why a person of such status, who supposed to uphold the law, was the very person violating it. His actions could have degenerated into total breakdown of law and order if not for the timely intervention of the DCP. In view of the foregoing, the public are enjoined to ignore such publication which was aimed at raising false alarm and casting aspersions against the Force.” (New Telegraph)

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