A policeman attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) in Awada, Anambra State, has lost two fingers during a scuffle with some members of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra/Biafran Independence Movement (MASSOB-BIM), in Onitsha, Anambra State.
A MASSOB-BIM commissioner in charge of security, CSO Friday Oguejiofor, also suffered a broken head from police gun butts during the scuffle, which happened along Mgbemena Street, Awada, Obosi.
Daily Sun gathered that trouble started when an unidentified man allegedly parked a private car along the road obstructing traffic flow. Some MASSOB-BIM members who normally control traffic and regulate their members who are tricycle operators were said to have told the driver to remove the vehicle from the road but the man felt offended and threatened to deal with those who touched his car, boasting that he would call SARS to arrest them because the car belonged to a SARS operative.
Within minutes, a SARS patrol team stormed the area and allegedly started shooting randomly. This led to a scuffle as the MASSOB-BIM members confronted the policemen and also resisted attempts to be whisked away.
A MASSOB-BIM member who pleaded anonymity told Daily Sun that one of the SARS officers opened fire on the MASSOB-BIM members but, to his surprise, the bullet could not penetrate their bodies.
In the ensuing confusion, the policeman broke the MASSOB-BIM CSO’s head with his the butt of his gun, while another person in the vicinity pulled a knife and cut off the policeman’s two fingers in the process.
When contacted, the police public relations officer, Anambra State Command, Haruna Muhammed, dismissed the claims by the MASSOB-BIM members.
He said the actual story was that police responded to a distress call in the area following reports that hoodlums were operating there. He confirmed that a policeman was actually injured as the hoodlums fought back when the police arrived at the scene, but one suspect who injured the policeman was arrested.
He said
