Mr Elias Esedo, Assistant Comptroller General, Nigerian Immigration Service, Zone ‘D’.
By Abasifreke Effiong
Armed officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service attached to the Assistant Comptroller General of Immigrations in-charge of Zone ‘D’ ACG Elias Asedo, have allegedly manhandled one Mr. Solomon Edet in Akwa, Anambra state.
The armed immigration officers were said to have beat up, injured and seized the mobile phone of Mr. Edet on the orders of their boss, ACG Asedo over a breach of contract.
ACG Asedo has denied the allegation, saying it was Mr. Edet who assaulted his Orderly
A video of the incident exclusively obtained by The Dune shows that ACG Asedo was at the scene of the incident which happened around 10 a.m on Friday 2nd September along Awka Enugu expressway, Awka, Anambra State.
Mr. Edet sustained injury on his left palm as a result of the incident.
Edet is the President of Akwa Ibom Community in Anambra state and the Anambra state chairman of Borehole Drillers Association of Nigeria.
Edet said he got a call from someone who asked him to meet him along the expressway for a job, when he got there, he saw ACG Asedo with his official car and three other vans filled with armed immigration police.
“When I got there, they dragged me into their van on the orders of Mr. Asedo. I got wounded while they were beating and dragging me. I don’t know where they wanted to take me to. They left me when they saw that people had gathered and started filming them assaulting me. They also took my phone from me.”
“What happened was a pure case of kidnapping from all my calculations and the manner in which everything happened. Just that their plans failed. If that man had succeeded in getting me into their vehicle I don’t know what would have been my fate by now”, Mr Edet said.
Mr Solomon Edet showing his left hand allegedly injured by the Immigration Officers .
He explained that Mr. Esedo used his office and armed men to manhandle him because of a borehole project he did for him.
“Mr. Esedo contacted me to drill a borehole for him, I did the job but when we wanted to pump the water after I had concluded the job, the water didn’t pump well meaning that the well failed. So I appealed to him to allow me time to raise money and drill another well for him.”
“I have started drilling a new well, my rig is still at the site, that shows that I wasn’t running, so I’m surprised that he would mobilise his officers to come, beat me up on the road, seize my phone and attempt to kidnap me”, he narrated.
Mr. Edet said he has reported the assault to the police command in Awka.
When contacted, ACG Esedo said his men did not assault anybody, he argued that instead it was Mr. Edet who assaulted his Orderly and tore his uniform.
He also denied seizing Edet’s telephone.
“My men did not assault anybody. On my way from Anambra returning to Niger State this morning, I ran into somebody whom I gave money to drill a borehole for me and he failed to do the job for more than four months now.”
“When I saw him, I told him that he should come with me to the site and show me what he has done. That was when he started trouble, he assaulted my Orderly and tore his cloth.”
“This is what happened, I wanted to drill a borehole so I contacted the Chairman, Borehole Drillers Association in Niger State, the man gave me the number of the National Secretary of the association who contacted him (Edet) whom I learnt is the Chairman of the Association in Anambra.”
“I discussed the project with him, he went and did a survey, I paid him N30,000, after that he agreed to do the job, I paid him the total amount for the job which was N956,000, I have all the receipts with me. All these payments were done in April.
“He had said he will complete the job in four days. Four days later, he called me and said he has completed the job, I told him that when I’m in Anambra, I will call him to come and pump the water for me to see. When I came home, I called him, when he came to pump the water, water didn’t come out.”
“He said I should give him some days that he will fix it. Since then till today he has not done that project. I don’t know the man, I don’t know where he lives. He was recommended for the job by the Borehole Drillers Association. I didn’t know he is this fraudulent.”
When asked if he has made an official report on the alleged assault of his orderly to the police, ACG Esedo said he has not but that he went to see the police AIG in-charge of zone 13 after the incident.
“I went to zone 13 to see the AIG, when I got there and phoned him, he told me that he was not in the office yet and promised to inform me once he is in the office. But I have not officially lodged a compliant yet”, Esedo said on telephone.
When contacted, the National Secretary of Borehole Drillers Association of Nigeria, Mr Abdul Adnan, said he was aware of the transaction between ACG Esedo and their member, Mr Edet and had tried to mediate all along.
“It was a breach of contract on Mr. Solomon’s (Edet) part. I mediated between them. The job was not done to the specification he Solomon gave. He attested to it and promised to re-do the job. He requested for time, two weeks at first, the time elapsed on the 4th of August. He requested for more time and still could not meet up.”
“I spoke with him yesterday (Thursday) and he said he should be given till Saturday, I communicated same to his client. So I have been pleading with the client before the unfortunate incident of today”, Adnan.
