A former state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, Chief Barrister Chuma Nwofor, was reportedly brutalized in the morning of April 15, 2014, Tuesday, around 10am.
Nwofor, who used to be a deputy president of the Chambers of Commerce Mines and Agriculture, was attacked by soldiers of the 302-brigade Onitsha.
According to witnesses, the attackers were drunk and were heading on a mission to loot. The local community was shocked by this development.
Nwofor was reportedly driving to Asaba, after visiting his clients. Once arriving to the Upper Iweka road in Onitsha, which is under construction, and has only one lane, Chuma Nwofor got stuck in a traffic jam.
An army truck with no siren, or escort car, forced itself into the middle of the road, and had hit Nwofor’s car, and another vehicle, a Mitsubishi Van.
The occupants of the Mitsubishi Van came out of their car and confronted the army truck driver, whose reckless driving caused damage to the vehicle. Nwafor has also joined them.
However, such complaints infuriated the driver and the soldiers, who were reportedly under the influence of alcohol.
The unidentified driver, four other soldiers pounced on Barrister Nwafor without a warning. They beat him up with iron rods from their vehicle, used the butts of their guns to hit the victim. Some witnesses say the drunken soldiers tore open his head with their blows.
Nwofor was thrown on the ground and lost consciousness, while the attackers moved to search the vehicle of the victim, collected some items from it, including the money that his customers had paid him. The money allegedly stolen by the soldiers is the equivalent of over USD100,000 (N17,000,000).
The military men took the unconscious man to their barracks. They refused to let him go for treatment to a local hospital, kept bleeding PDP chief in the cell for about 3 hours.
According to a source of Saharareporters, the decision to hold Nwofor was a trick to ‘buy time’, and enable the soldiers to cleanly cart away the money, and the items they removed from the vehicle.
Chuma Nwofor had requested the names of the soldiers involved, but Captain GC Ohaeri, refused to disclose their names, or identify what rank the men held.
Finally, the victim was released from the barracks and taken to Onitsha General Hospital for treatment and examination. He had lost a lot of blood, and lost consciousness several times.
The witnesses stated the incident looked like a well-planned robbery, and an act of intimidation. Speculation continues to fly in this case.
The victim plans to take up the matter with the National Human Right Commission and to also sue for recovering of the stolen funds and damages. A renowned lawyer, Sam Ologunorisha (SAN), will support him.
One of the main questions is why would the army allow a drunken officer to be on the road at that time of the morning armed with guns?
PDP Chief said he intends to sue them for N500 million damages at the Federal High Court.
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