The Anambra State Branch of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) has petitioned the Anambra State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) concerning the physical assault of the organisation’s Legal Secretary, Comr. Justus Uche Ijeoma (Esq.), by a Unit Commander, C.A. Meta, and his men.

According to the CLO, Comr. Justus Uche Ijeoma had cause to visit the FRSC office to settle a complaint brought to the CLO by one Mr. Ekene Ewurum, a commercial truck driver, who brought a report that he was beaten up by the men of FRSC and his vehicle contravened.

“The man,” the petition explained, “had a face swollen; an injury on his hand showing a human bite and bloodshot eyes, all from the beating he received from the men of FRSC. He equally expressed morbid fear of going alone to their office, arguing that if he could receive the kind of beatings he had received at the road, that only God knows what would happen to him should he go there alone. Subsequent incident proved he was right after all.”

Matter, however, got out of hand at the FRSC office when Comr. Justus Uche Ijeoma found out that the officials of the FRSC where playing on his intelligence and upon his protest was slapped repeatedly by the Unit Commander, whose men, later, descended on him.

The FRSC Unit Commander, Comr. Justus Uche Ijeoma narrated, “ordered his men to collect my phones. They thoroughly assaulted me; tore my trousers, shirt and singlet to shreds; they collected my money (N18,000) from me. It was a humiliation of the highest order. When the driver told them to stop beating me up, some of them turned to him whipped him with belt. They chased him out of the gate. When I wanted to enter my car their ‘Oga’ ordered them not to allow me to leave the place.”

“He called the D.O of Bridgehead Police Post on phone and told him that there is a criminal in their custody that and he should come and arrest him. The D.O saw me and was surprised at what they did to me. He took me to his office and then asked one of his men to follow me to Fegge Police Station to make entry. At Fegge I met the DPO who directed that entry be made and that both I and the driver be given medical report form to enable us to go hospital for treatment. He assured that those who perpetrated this act must be arrested and treated according to the law.”

The CLO informed in the petition that the, “banal manhandling of our comrade represents a tip of what people go through in the hands of Mr. C.A Meta and his men. The Federal Road Safety Commission has become a law unto itself. Their officials not only contravene motorists at will, they also assault and molest people with reckless abandon and unmitigated impunity. They determine what constitutes an offence and the punishment thereto, and any person who raises any question is visited with treatment such as the one the one our Comrade has received. Hiding under the principle of strict liability, they declare people guilty as charged without allowing the alleged offenders any form of hearing, whether fair or unfair hearing. It is a grievous violation for them to beat up citizens under any guise.

“At Niger bridgehead in Onitsha, they have developed full blown methods of extorting money from their alleged offenders. Such methods include stationing none uniformed person at about a hundred meter away from their checkpoint, whose duty it is to collect monies from prospective offenders and if any fails to ‘cooperate’ he signals them for action while those that ‘cooperate’ are allowed easy passage no matter the nature of load they carry.

“They also have standing understanding with various commercial motorist groups who make joint returns to their office weekly. Also, when motorists are accused of having breached any law, they are taken straight into their office which is situated at the other side of the road. Such people taken into their office are usually not booked for any offence until negotiation for bribe fails, but if negotiation succeeds, they extort bribes from them and have them released.

“We therefore call on you to fish out all the officers that participated in this wicked and criminal act of molesting our Comrade and met out the appropriate administrative sanctions on them. Those that work for the defence of peoples’ rights must not be allowed to be devalued and degraded.

“We do hope that this letter will receive expeditious and proper it deserves.”

•Photo shows FRSC Corps Marshall, Boboye Oyeyemi.