Operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra popularly known as Ocha Brigade, over the weekend escaped death by the whiskers as suspected thugs attacked their operational vehicle in the course of duty at the Bridgehead, near the main gate of the popular Ogbogwu Drug Market in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Reports have it that the Ocha Brigade’s operational vehicle was damaged, and all belongings of the operatives inside the vehicle vandalized.
Information has it that items destroyed during the attack include, an Android phone, Ocha Brigade uniforms and caps, and the vehicle’s battery. The operatives occupying the vehicle were severely beaten, suffering various injuries.
Recounting the ordeal, one of the Ocha Brigade members, who was severely beaten, whose name was given as Chinedu said that their vehicle was blocked by a tricycle (Keke), which was believed to have been hired by a relative of an environmental defaulters who had been arrested alongside a tramadol peddler at Ogbogwu Market.
He said, “We arrested someone who was throwing waste into a gutter at the Niger Bridgehead. As we were transporting him to our office, along with another person who had been arrested for carrying tramadol, a Keke suddenly blocked our vehicle in front,”
“As we were about to ask the Keke occupants why they were blocking us, they began beating us. Before we could understand what was happening, more people came out from the Ogboogwu area, including Hausa people and Keke operators loading beside the Ogboogwu Market. They joined in attacking us. It was only after the intervention of a security guard that they stopped short of setting our vehicle on fire, before Ocha Brigade security and officers of the Navy arrived to rescue us.”
When contacted, the Onitsha Unit Coordinator of Ocha Brigade, Mr. Ejike Odife, confirmed the incident.
He assured that those involved in the attack would be prosecuted and held accountable under the law.
