Angry Anambra Residents Set Soludo’s Revenue Agents Ablaze

Angry residents of the commercial city of Onitsha have set two Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) agents of Anambra State governor, Prof. Chikwuma Soludo, ablaze.

The mob’s action was in reaction to the death of an innocent bystander at Old Market Road in the commercial city believed to have been caused by the revenue ‘touts’.

Residents had been complaining about the activities of the revenue agents in the state, who at times use pestles to cripple citizens without any intervention from the government.

Our correspondent gathered that this time around, a tipper driver lost control of his vehicle while the revenue agents were dragging the steering with him, causing the vehicle to ram into the by-stander and killing him instantly.

As the revenue agents made to run away after the accident, some angry residents, including tricycle operators, prevented them from escaping.


The incident, The Nation gathered, occurred at the weekend

The state’s police command confirmed the incident through its spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga.

A video that has gone viral on social media shows the mob hitting the revenue agents with different objects before setting them ablaze.

A witness of the incident who asked not to be named said: “There was chaos in Onitsha this morning as an angry mob set two revenue touts ablaze while four others managed to escape.

The revenue collectors, numbering about six, were chasing the tipper driver over a certain amount they asked him to pay.

“As they were chasing him, some of them were dragging the steering with him.

“In the process, the tipper driver lost control and rammed into a bystander, killing him instantly.

“Immediately the revenue collectors saw the damage they had caused, they tried to flee the scene, but a mob got angry and descended on them.

“The mob instantly set two of the revenue officials ablaze while four others managed to escape.

“It was one death too many as this had been going on in Anambra in the last two years.

The person the tipper driver rammed into is a known person.

We cannot continue like this anymore”.

“These revenue touts of the state government have killed more Ndi Anambra than non-state actors who are disturbing the peace.”

A government official who did not want to be quoted told The Nation that the alleged revenue touts were not government agents but some individuals pretending to be.

“Soludo is working for the good of the state, but it is unfortunate that the opposition has been looking for avenues to give him a bad name,” he said.

The spokesman of Anambra State Police Command, Ikenga, said the police had brought the situation under control.

He said: “Anambra Police responded swiftly on receiving the news of the fatal accident that happened in the area.

“We are already working with the relevant authorities to ascertain what happened and find an amicable solution especially against future occurrences.”

Source:- Thenationonlineng