A commercial driver shot dead by an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Rivers State was set to hold his traditional wedding on Saturday, his brother has said.
The deceased driver, simply identified as Christian aka biggy, was chased by officials of the Rivers State Taskforce on street trading and illegal motor parks along the NTA road, near Port Harcourt on Tuesday for alleged wrong parking.
After he was caught, a fracas ensued between him and the task force officials before the NSCDC official fired a shot that hit Christian near his genitals, killing him.
The driver’s death sparked protests, which continued till Wednesday, in the area.
The deceased’s elder brother, Abel, who is one of the drivers’ union leaders, said he was killed three days before his traditional marriage.
“He is my younger brother. He was preparing for his marriage on Saturday. He was making arrangements to pay the bride price.
“His father is even in town for the marriage. The woman was running around for other arrangements before we heard this bad news.
“You can see that is why the drivers are too angry. But what I told them was for them not to work today to honour Christian who has died,” The PUNCH reports.
Meanwhile, the protesting drivers have vowed to continue the protest for one week until the government intervenes and called for justice for their late colleague.
The drivers numbering over 50 who defied the heavy rains on Wednesday morning vowed to attack any task force official, bus or taxi driver they see working today.
One of them said:
“We are tired of this task force. They are too hard on us every day. Let the government give the drivers places to park.
“See Civil Defence have killed Christian. Traditional marriage is gone. Marriage don stop,” he bemoaned in pidgin English.
Also, a mild drama played out at the Obiri-Kwere and Ozuoba axis as the protesters were seen whipping their colleague who was operating in defiance of the sit-at-home directive by the union.
The situation heightened tension as commuters were seen trekking long distances to other areas where alternative transportation was available.
As at the time of filing this report the NSCDC and the State taskforce have maintained a studied silence over the killing of the bus driver and the continued protest.
