Transport company, GUO, has narrated how one of its drivers was beaten with cutlasses by political thugs on the orders of Ossy Onuko, an aide to Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo, for overtaking his convoy.
On Friday some yet-to-be-identified escorts said to be attached to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Awka Capital Territory Development Agency, Onuko, assaulted the commercial driver on the road for overtaking their convoy.
Viral videos of the incident that happened at the UNIZIK Junction in Awka, the state capital seen by SaharaReporters showed the escorts beating the driver.
While reacting to the trending videos, some residents, who condemned the act, called on the state Governor to caution his appointees, saying that their conduct did not portray them as “responsible public office holders.”
A resident and human rights activist, who identified himself simply as Paschal, while reacting to the videos, further called on the Inspector General of Police, Anambra State Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services, and all human rights defenders to come to the rescue of defenceless civilians.
However, the transport company, GUO, has vowed to sue the government official allegedly involved in the barbaric act.
The GUO said its driver was beaten with cutlass by political thugs on the order of Onuko. It further stated that the passengers were traumatised as they watched the helpless driver being pummelled.
“We assure all concerned citizens that we will seek legal redress, to ensure that such acts of inhumane treatment of citizens do not keep occurring.
“We have also seen the statement from the press secretary of the Anambra State Government. We are surprised that they would want to defend the atrocious act meted out to our driver today.
“They justified this atrocious action of theirs by contending that it was our driver’s recklessness that led to his being beaten with a machete and terribly brutalized. The false narrative they put out without speaking to our driver or the passengers in the vehicle that witnessed the whole incident speaks volumes.
“We call on the Executive Governor of Anambra State to condemn the conduct of his officials and constitute a panel of inquiry into this incident to curtail the excesses of his officials and avoid a repeat of similar incident which could possibly have led to loss of lives and chaos in the state.”
However, the governor’s aide, Onuko in a statement apologised over the incident, while denying that he was in the convoy.
The statement partly read: “I have been inundated with calls and messages from well-meaning friends, colleagues and ndi Anambra over a video clip that has gone viral on social media regarding an altercation between a GUO driver and myself, the Managing Director/Cheif Executive Officer of Awka Capital Territory Development Authority.
“I take full responsibility for all that, and I also apologise to the young man, his company GUO, and my friends and well-wishers who have been embarrassed by my association with such act.”
He however clarified that: “I was driving in the company of two civil defence officers seated in the back seat of my Toyota Hilux vehicle, there was no convoy.”