By Ijendu Iheaka
March 3, 2017
The Chairman, Abia
State Newspaper and Magazine Distributors, Mr Ike C. Ike on Friday said that
the army have yet to set free two vendors they arrested on Monday.
Ike disclosed this in an interview with our reporter to debunk the claim that the army had released the
vendors.
He said that since Monday, nothing had been heard
about the whereabouts of vendors adding that the association and members of
their families have become worried about their safety.
Ike therefore called on the Nigerian Army 144
Battalion headquartered at Obehie in Ukwa West to releases the vendors in order
not to harm them as one of them was said to have been released from hospital on
Sunday.
Ike said that on Monday soldiers
from the Ngwa High School Forward Operation Base (FOB), Aba, Abia State went to
the office of Thisday and Authority newspapers and beat their
sales representative.
He said that the soldiers arrested
two newspaper vendors Mr Obinna Ogbonna and 64 year old Theresa Olovese aka Jecima.
A vendor who was present at
the time told our reporter that trouble started on Monday when soldiers in two hilux
vans invaded newspapers distribution point on St. Michael’s Road in a
commando-style.
According to the witness who refused
to be named, the soldiers ordered everybody including those who came to buy
newspapers and magazines to sit down on the bare floor.
He said that having complied without
delay the soldiers said they were looking for those selling what they called
“Biafra Newspapers”, while ordering the people to identify themselves.
He said that when the Thisday
sales rep, Mr. Simeon Obi identified himself, the soldiers asked for his offficial
identity card, manhandled and bundled him into a waiting hilux van for saying
that his ID was upstairs.
The case of the Authority
newspapers sales rep, Mrs. Chinyere Ibe was more pathetic as she was beaten for
saying “I am with Authority newspapers” which statement made the soldiers angry.
The source said immediately the
woman said “I’m with the Authority Newspapers”, one of the soldiers gave her
several slaps and asked, “You say you be authority, who gave you that
authority, who made you the authority of this town? If I hear you be authority
again, I will deal with you”.
According to the source, three
newspapers sales reps including that of Punch, Thisday and Authority
together with some vendors were taken to the Ngwa High school army base where
the humiliation continued.
He said that the army captain in
charge of the base ordered the severe beating of Mr. Obi for daring to ‘smile’
before the officer when he was ‘pardoned’.
However, the two vendors
including the 64 year old Theresa who was reportedly discharged from the
hospital a day before her arrest were as at the time of filing the report still
being held by the army.
Late last year, a vendor was arrested
by soldiers from the same base for allegedly selling “Biafra Newspapers”.
He was later transferred to the
headquarters of the 14 brigade of the Nigerian Army, Ohafia from where he was
released after weeks in detention.
Efforts to reach the Commander of
144 Battalion, Lt. Col. Umar Sidi failed as his phones were out of network reach.
“They are now with the DSS in Umuahia who are
conducting an investigation on their operations” he said.
The State Police PRO, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna
said he was not aware of the arrests of the vendors in Aba over “Biafra
Newspapers” by the men of 144 Battalion in Abia state.
When reached, the Commander of 144
Battalion, Lt. Col. Umar Sidi said that he was aware of the arrests and
confirmed that the vendors were no longer with the army.
No comments:
Post a Comment