How Driver Bite Off, Swallowed Finger of Ebonyi Task force Official

One Mr. Iboko Kenneth, a task force official with the Ebonyi state Ministry of Capital City Development, had his finger bitten off by a commercial driver on Tuesday, November 16.

The yet to be identified driver was said to have attacked Kenneth at the Onuebonyi Junction in the Abakaliki metropolis when he was resisting arrest.

The Ebonyi state government had requested commercial drivers to move to a new park, Akubaraoha Central park, and shun illegal parking of vehicles on the road.

The task force team who were on inspection met some drivers parked illegally and loading their vehicles. The said driver who was caught in the act among others, attacked Kenneth, bite off a tip of his finger and swallowed it before abandoning his vehicle to escape. The abandoned vehicle was impounded and the victim was rushed 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.

He said, "It is very unfortunate that a driver can attack a law officer who is trying to organise 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 task force are not weak and we do our job within the confines of the law, but for a driver to chop-off a task force 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.ÔÇØ

Meanwhile, five drivers who parked illegally, were arrested who according to the Commissioner, will be arraigned in court.