The keke rider, identified as Nsikak Esieme, was transporting a passenger on Thursday when he was accosted by members of the task force to purchase the daily ticket for plying the route.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – A tricycle rider was reportedly beaten to death by a member of a task force operating in the Ogbogoro area of Obio Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State over a N200 ticket.
The keke rider, identified as Nsikak Esieme, was transporting a passenger on Thursday when he was accosted by members of the task force to purchase the daily ticket for plying the route, according to eye witnesses.
They added that Mr. Esieme declined, saying he was yet to generate income for the day from where he would purchase the ticket. His response allegedly a member of the task force called Osisi rejected, who allegedly punched Nsikak in the abdomen, causing him to slump to the ground.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital where he was rushed for medical attention.
Chairman of Keke Riders Union in the Ogbogoro community, Ivumba Friday, while speaking on the development, said Nsikak Esieme the alleged murderer had been terrorising Ogbogoro and the people in the area on a daily basis.
”We’ve reported this matter to OSPAC and even to the Police,” he disclosed, adding, “our keke people are law-abiding people who pay their taxes but if you see the level of ticket prices from the community and even Osisi himself, you’ll be shocked. Up till now, we don’t know the whereabouts of the corpse of our member that has died.”
Also commenting on the matter, the deceased’s brother, Lucky, demanded for the release of his late brother’s corpse to the family.
He said, “Till now, I don’t know where my brother’s corpse is. I want the person to come and show me my brother’s dead body and look for how we will bury him.”
The spokesperson of the Rivers Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, and disclosed that that Osisi is on the run.
She, however, said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ogbogoro reported it as a case of ”two fighting”, adding that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.