One of the numerous touts that collect money for some soldiers of the Nigerian army in Aba, Abia State was on Friday evening gruesomely
crushed by a moving truck he deliberately ran into.
News Echo learnt that the tragedy struck at the popular Bata Junction around in Aba, around past 5 pm when the touts and his masters from the Nigerian army stationed at Bata Junction began their usual extortionist activities.
News Echo also learnt that the deceased was chasing after a moving lorry to collect the usual bribe that ranges between M300 to N500 and sometimes N1000 when he met his untimely end.
To the shock of commuters and passersby, the deceased tout knowing how busy the Bata Junction is, decided to run under a moving truck to enable him catch up with the lorry he was chasing.
The truck as gathered, belonging to the Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency (ASEPA) and was going for the usual evening refuse disposal duty.
People crowded the scene when blood starting gushing out from under the ASEPA truck where the tout ran into, with his head crushed beyond recognition.
Okechukwu Osondu who witnessed the incident told News Echo that he was shocked to see that the soldiers did nothing as though they never knew the deceased.
He said, “These boys don’t hear anything. This is usually what they do at Bata, Obikabia and other notable Junctions in Aba. Boys who should find jobs to do are busy running around encouraged by soldiers to intimidate their own people and extort them.
“Today, this one is dead and the soldiers are still there as though nothing happened. Imagine how a sane person decided to cross under a moving truck just to go and collect bribes meant for his masters in the Nigerian army. Tomorrow others will still come out.”
Another eyewitness who gave him name as Pascal said he was shocked at the incident because he just crossed to the left side of the busy Factory Road only to see a young man he saw before crossing lying dead under a truck.
“May his soul rest in peace, but it’s a lesson to those who’ll be here tomorrow. You can see the money he collected in his hands there and the soldiers are now ashamed to identify with him.
“It’s the tragedy of life. They’re now ashamed to say we sent him, he’s our boy. I pray Aba youths will learn and Government act against the illegal activities of these soldiers, especially at Bata and Obikabia Junctions.”
News Echo gathered that the situation attracted the presence of different security operatives who came to the scene, but it took up to 30 minutes after the incident for the Eziama Police Division in whose jurisdiction the incident took place to come and carry the corpse.
