UPDATED: Chaos in Abuja as task force brutalise taxi driver

Irate taxi drivers set up bonfires and blocked major roads in and around Wuse Market, protesting the brutalization of a fellow taxi driver by members of the FCT task force at about 10 am in the morning. The driver, who was only identified as Tony was caught up unawares by the task force who beat […]

Irate taxi drivers set up bonfires and blocked major roads in and around Wuse Market, protesting the brutalization of a fellow taxi driver by members of the FCT task force at about 10 am in the morning.

The driver, who was only identified as Tony was caught up unawares by the task force who beat him up with the buts of their guns into a state of coma.

Eyewitnesses said the melee broke out when a member of the task force who was in mufti jumped into a parked taxi and demanded for the key of the cab from the driver.

A taxi driver, Ameachi Igwe, who spoke with Daily Trust said he was at the scene when the whole fracas started saying,

“The joint task force came this morning to harass drivers with unpainted taxies along Berger-Wuse route.  What happened was that an old man parked his painted taxi close to the traffic light junction by Wuse Market on Herbert Macaulay Way was eating nearby.

The man was not feeling too well but he still came out to look for money for his family needs, but along the line, one of the task force members in mufti entered the old man’s car and demanded for his car keys and when they started arguing, I tried to intervene in the matter and asked the officer to come down from the car and identify himself properly.

Then his colleague came in from nowhere and I sighted about four of their hilux vans coming towards me so I ran and they started shooting in the air and started throwing people into their vans.”

He added that

“It was then one of our colleagues, Tony, as you can see I am holding his palm slippers, I was the one who called him because he was somewhere eating and his wife and his child were waiting for him to take them to the hospital. The task force team caught him and beat him to coma and shot in the air sporadically.  I don’t know if the bullet hit him but they beat him to state of coma and threw him into their van and took him away.”

The angry protesters demanded that the task force should be disbanded, accusing members of the team of extortion and brutality.

Movement was impeded on major highways in the city centre connecting to Wuse, Berger and Mabushi as motorists spent from one to two hours getting out of the jam. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS ON THE WUSE PROTEST

Responding, director of FCT Directorate Road  Transport  Services, Wadata Aliyu Bodinga, who is  the head of the task force team told our reporter on phone that the situation has been put under control. He said the public should disregard the rumour that the taxi driver was shot dead.

He also assured that the situation will be dealt with appropriately as he does not condone brutality.