A commercial driver, on Tuesday, bit off the finger of a task force member and swallowed it, in Ebonyi State, while attempting to escape arrest.
The incident took place at the Onuebonyi Junction in the Abakaliki metropolis, during an inspection tour by the Ministry of Capital City Development and the task force team which was aimed at stopping illegal parking and loading.
It was gathered that the said driver, Iboko Kenneth, was spotted at the Onuebonyi Junction loading passengers illegally.
When accosted by the task force, he bit off the finger of one of them who tried to arrest him.
The victim has, however, been taken to the emergency unit of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.
Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki, on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Capital City Development, Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi, described the incident as terrible, unexpected, and barbaric.
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He said, “It is very unfortunate that a driver can attack a law officer who is trying to organize the state to the point of chopping off his finger. This is terrible, unexpected, and barbaric.
“So, I want to plead with the motorists not to pull our legs because the taskforce are not weak and we do our job within the confines of the law, but for a driver to chop-off a taskforce finger is unacceptable and I assure you that we will get to the root of the matter, it will not happen again.
“We are not using force but the problem is that our people are stubborn particularly the motorists, some of them anyway. I want to commend some of the transport companies for their cooperation so far that led to the peaceful relocation of the parks within the city to the central park known as Akubaraoha Abakaliki Central Park. If you go there now, the park is very peaceful, businesses are going on, no complain.
“As the government, we are doing our best to fence the place and put internal roads and other social amenities.
“But we have discovered with dismay that some drivers are bent on operating from the streets instead of doing the needful and by joining their colleagues at the central park.
“My encounter with them this morning is evidence to that assertion. Along waterworks road, behind the police checkpoints there, we saw over 10 buses loading Enugu and Onitsha.
“We also took a patrol to Onuebonyi Junction where we saw 11 trucks, buses, and Sienna buses loading there not minding our repeated warnings to that effect.”
