Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Hours after the #EndSARS protests against police brutality eased
across the country, soldiers from the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian
Army, Asa, Abia State on Monday, brutalized and dehumanized Mr. Peter
Elekwachi, a staff of Aba plant of The Sun Publishing Company Limited.
Elekwachi, who narrated his ordeal in the hands of the soldiers while
writhing in pains as a result of pounding he received in the hands of
the heartless soldiers, said he left office on Monday evening to buy
something within the Alaoji axis of Aba.
The Sun staff who went out in his vehicle said he was waiting to cross
the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway at Alaoji when he noticed that an
army Hilux van was running against traffic as it was heading towards
Aba from Asa.
Elekwachi, hardly audible enough as a result of exhaustion from the
trouncing he received from the soldiers, said he saw the army van afar
off and decided to drive across the Expressway.
He said immediately therefore, the army van approached where he was
and stopped, and four soldiers jumped down and beaconed on him to come
and see them.
Elekwachi said when the soldiers asked him to come; he thought they
wanted to enquire from him how they could get to a particular
location.
“But surprisingly, when I got to them, the soldiers asked me why I did
not wait for their van to drive past before I crossed the Expressway”.
Elekwachi said before he could answer their question, the four
soldiers, acting on the orders of their officers who were sitting
inside the hilux van descended on him.
According to Elekwachi, “Initially, they were using their gun butts on
me, but when it appeared that was not giving them what they wanted;
they dropped their guns and used clubs to hit me as if I was a cow.
“The soldiers pounded on me relentlessly until I collapsed and
thinking I was dead, they left and continued with their journey as if
nothing happened.
Elekwachi is presently lying critically ill because of the beating
from the soldiers and doctors are battling to save his life.
Efforts to reach the army authorities in Abia failed.
