By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – AN Edo State-based popular businessman and transporter, Comrade Osakpanmwan Eriyo has raised the alarm over an alleged invasion of his business premises by suspected men to be from the Nigerian Security and Security Defence Corps NSCDC) where they allegedly shot sporadically into putting the lives of customers and other people in area in danger and in the process many ran away without paying their bills and some properties destroyed.

In a petition to the Inspector General of Police, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 5, the State Director, State Security Services (SSS), Eriyo through his lawyer, Olayiwola Afolabi said the incident happened at about 7 pm on October 17th where his client operates a hospitality business around the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Benin City.

According to him, on the said day, “Our client noticed five men well dressed in Civil Defence clothes carrying their rifles. When one of our client’s personal assistants saw them coming inside the club house,he quickly drew the attention of our client (the M.D.) of their coming inside the club house.

“That when they got to the place where our client was sitting, our client asked them of their mission at the club house and instead of answering him, one of signaled to another of the five officers to immediately arrest our client and take him away from the club house.”

He said instead of the personnel identifying themselves or producing a warrant of arrest, they pounced on Eriyo and attempted to drag him away but that the staff quickly locked the gate and at that point, they personnel started shooting and turned the place to a warlike zone with gunshots that lasted for over one hour.

Afolabi called for the identification of those who carried out the attack adding that prior to that day, his client had been subjected to insistent harassment with a phone number of somebody who claimed to be personnel of the NSCDC. They were alleged to have come in a pick-up van with NSCDC registration number.

But in its reaction, the state command of the NSCDC in a letter through its OC Legal, CSC Mabel Ulinfun Esq to Afolabi dated October 25th acknowledged the receipt of his letter which “has been forwarded to the appropriate quarters for further necessary action please.”