*victim may sue DSS operatives
A lawyer, Mr Jude Ndukwe was yesterday assaulted by some security operatives reportedly from the Department of State Security(DSS) within the premises of an Awka Magistrate court.
The security men according to Mr Ndukwe and other witnesses physically assaulted him, armed with machete, an action which threw the entire Court premises into commotion as other Lawyers quickly rushed to assist rescue their colleague.
The bone of contention, one of the witnesses told journalists in Awka was over parking space in the premises.
The DSS operatives who arrived in a green painted Peugeot car, were said to be on an emergency mission in the area were irked when they could not easily gain access into the Court premises because of the indiscriminate manner vehicles were parked in the premises.
Angered over the situation, they exchanged hot words with one of the lawyers on ground, leading to the physical scuffle with Ndukwe which instantly drew attention of others around, including other lawyers who were already arguing their briefs in the courts around. They reportedly had demanded that the owners of the cars rep ark them at once.
One witness, himself a lawyer said that, “The courts were already in session when we started hearing people shouting outside; we rushed out and saw a lawyer who was seriously manhandled by the DSS operatives.
“The situation attracted sympathy of other lawyers present in court who rallied round to rescue their colleague,” the source said.
According to the source, the security operatives quickly reinforced as the number of the lawyers grew. Two of the security men were said to have drawn their guns, threatening to shoot anyone who dared come close while they went ahead and deflated all tyre of vehicles around.
According to Mr Ndukwe who has threatened to take the matter to court, “I was called out by a female Police officer to come and remove my vehicle blocking the way and as I made to open my car, his two orderly started assaulting me.
“One used a machete while the other with a gun used his hands on me. What happened shouldn’t have warranted this type of situation,” Ndukwe said.
Though the police were later called in , Ndukwe said that he was not satisfied with the way the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Hassan Karma handled the case.
“The matter should be formerly documented; the police should carry out their investigations and charge the matter to court to assuage me,” he said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Uche Ezeh confirmed the report, admitting that “some lawyers made formal complaint on the matter which was later resolved by the Commissioner of Police in company of his deputy in charge of administration.
“They had a hand shake in the CP’s office, where the CP reminded them that lawyers and security operatives were partners in progress and should resolve the matter amicably,” Ezeh said.
