A tricycle operator was on Friday allegedly beaten to death by some task force operatives enforcing the lockdown directive in Aba, Abia State.
Confirming the incident, the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ene Okon, said that he had directed the area commander in charge of Aba to investigate the cause of death of the tricycle operator, which happened along Opobo Road in the commercial city.
He said that another tricycle operator allegedly killed by policemen at Uratta Checkpoint in Aba did not die as speculated but was arrested by the police for defying the lockdown order.
Okon said that a third person was shot and wounded at the same Uratta Junction by the police for blocking the road when a police team raced to the area to restore order, following an anti-police protest by youths.
He said that a mob burnt a police inspector’s car at the checkpoint, thinking that the second tricycle operator had also died.
An eyewitness told NAN that the tricycle operator was struggling with a man stationed by the police team at the junction to arrest violators of the movement restriction.
“Seeing their `catcher’ being overpowered by the tricyclist in his bid to escape, one of the policemen in the team hit the tricyclist with his gun butt in the head and he slumped.
”The policemen had to rush the tricyclist to hospital for medication,” the eyewitness said
