Suspected Picking Pocket Smashes Keke Rider’s Head After Missing His Target In Abakaliki

Chinedu Ngwuta, Abakaliki

A young man whose name is yet to given suspected to be a picking pocket was said to have broken the head of 22 years old tricycle operator, Mr. Ejike Nwidembia at Ogoja Road in Abakaliki.

Narrating the incident, the victim said that he was going into the town from Rice Mill axis with some passengers when he picked the accused person at Nkwogu junction by Ogoja Road but immediately after the rest persons had disembarked at St. Theresa Catholic Church gate, the accused person also came out at a nearby Central Urban Primary School gate and offered him N100 instead of N 200 being the current fare for every short distance.

According to him, the development led to a heated argument and fight between them but after he had found out that he is not a match to his opponent, he ran into the primary school premises for protection in the hands of the teachers without knowing that the man had determined perhaps to kill him by shattering his head with heavy stone.

“After we had been initially separated by some passersby, I decided to let go even without requesting for either part or the full fare but while I was about to leave the scene, the man picked stone and began to pursue me.

“Immediately, I sensed the man’s meanness, I ran into the school for help hoping that my attacker would heed to the intervention of the school teachers but surprisingly, he ignored the plea of the headmistress and other female staff.

Mr. Ejike further said that after the man had grabbed him and inserted his head under his armpit that he (assailant) began to inflict injuries on him with the stone until the women rushed outside and raised alarm through which he was rescued by the sympathizers almost half dead.

Another keke rider alleged that the accused person had planned to steal from the rest occupants of the keke but became disappointed after the people had disembarked shortly.

“How could such an able bodied person with poverty written all over him could enter a tricycle in a distance that is not up to 100 meters, the man did not have other mission rather than to steal from the pockets and hand bags of unsuspecting members of the public.

“But after he had missed his target, he transferred his annoyance on the keke operator who supposed to be the age mate of his youngest sibling” he said.
The Headmistress whose name was not given said that she and the rest members of her staff pleaded extensively for the man to leave the keke rider but the mediation was ignored until the injuries were inflicted.

The accused person, in his reaction simply said that he was firstly attacked by the keke rider before his retaliation.

The Chairman of Tricycle Riders and Owners (TRO), Ebonyi State, Mr. Chibueze Uguru frowned at the act against his member and queried the rationale behind boarding tricycle over a distance that is not up 100 meters.

Citizens’ Advocate gathered that some passersby who could not control their anger over the alleged maltreatment against the rider equally injured the accused person as a payback.

Also learnt that the injured person was taken to Police Clinic for treatment while the accused person was in police custody, SWAT section at the time of filing the report.