Tragedy yesterday struck in Benin City, Edo state capital after a policeman from Esigie Divisional Police station reportedly caused the death of a cab driver along Murtala Mohammed Way by Igun junction.
The state Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, confirmed thedevelopment to journalists at the Benin central hospital morgue wherethe victim’s remains was deposited.
Kokumo said he had ordered the arrest of policemen involved in the death, adding that the command would commence full scale investigation of the matter.
According to him, any policeman found culpable would be dismissed from the force and prosecuted.
Trouble reportedly started when the victim could not present an up-to-date papers of his vehicle to a team of policemen on a routinestop-and-search.
An argument was said to have ensued between a policeman and the driver after the security operatives rejected “as too small” an offerof N150.00 bribe handed to them by the deceased.
A witness and fiancée of the deceased, who identified herself as Ruth Okojie said: “as the hot argument raged, I reached out for my bag to give the policemen N1, 000 because we were rushing somewhere.
“But before I knew it, a policeman pushed my fiancé into an oncoming petrol tanker which crushed him to death, and we have scheduled our wedding for next Saturday.”
The development later turned violent as angry youths threw stones atthe policemen to protest their displeasure over the incident.
The protest caused heavy gridlock along Murtala Muhammed Way and other adjourning roads such as Akpakpava, New Lagos road, Dawson and 2nd East Circular.
Two police operation vehicles were set ablaze by the rampaging youths.
A policeman was beaten to coma in the ensuing fracas; while an unidentified man was also reportedly killed by police bullet around Dawson.
