Army officer, woman fight over right of way in Benin
Banji Aluko – Benin City
The vicinity surrounding the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) was, on Monday, thrown into turmoil, following a clash at the entrace gate at the Benin headquarters of the company between an army officer and a woman, Mrs Joy Agboghide.
According to eyewitnesses, the fight between the army officer, a major, and Mrs Agboghide, was caused by traffic situation in front of the BEDC office due to traffic congestion and indiscriminate parking of vehicles in the area.
It was learnt that the woman, who was driving from the Forestry Road axis, was asked to allow vehicles coming from the off Akpakpava axis pass and after allowing about five vehicles pass she insisted on passing thereby obstructing traffic.
Eyewitnesses also said that trouble started when the major, who had just left the BEDC office, accosted Mrs Agboghide and asked her to reverse her vehicle so as to allow vehicles coming in the opposite direction pass.
It was learnt that the woman declined, leading into fight between the trio of the woman, the major and his wife.
In the melee that followed, it was learnt that teargas cannister was used on the woman, while she retaliated by damaging the army officer’s car.
The army officer was said to have retaliated by inviting two army officers within the vicinity, who joined him to beat up Mrs Agboghide to a pulp and damaged her car including the wind screen and the rear screen that were shattered.
Security was beefed up in the area as members of the civil society group and family members besieged the BEDC office, alleging complicity of BEDC in the beating up of the woman.
It was learnt that Mrs Agboghide was later taken to hospital after she first reported at a police station.
A member of the civil society, Kola Edokpaye, alleged that the army officer called upon by the major were those attached to the BEDC, giving the name of one of them as Daniel.
Sources within the BEDC, however, said that the company was not in any way connected to the fiasco, adding that attempts were being made to unravel the identity of the army officer as he did not write his name in any register before he departed the BEDC.