Operatives of the Abia State Police Command have arrested an official of the Department of State Services, DSS, for inflicting machete cuts on the Director General of the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship campaign organization, Hon. Chinedum Elechi.
Trouble reportedly started at about 3pm on Sunday when Elechi allegedly scratched the red Toyota Sienna car belonging to the DSS official attached to Ebonyi command, along Azikiwe road.
It was gathered that the incident occurred when the campaign DG attempted to navigate his way on the busy road.
As Elechi moved to park his car by the roadside to ascertain the level of damage done, the DSS official was said to have blocked him at the junction linking Azikiwe road by BCA road and attacked him with a machete.
According to Vanguard, eyewitnesses said that the DSS official jumped out of his car and inflicted deep cuts on the head of the campaign DG. The security official also landed another deep cut on Elechi’s hand as he was covered with blood from the first attack.
There was tension in the area as road users who witnessed the incident were said to have moved to attack the DSS official, but he was saved by a patrol team of the Abia State Police Command who stormed the area.
“What happened was that the Azikiwe road is usually a busy road. There was confusion and everybody was trying to drive through the area. The campaign Director was also trying to drive out of the heavy traffic. He scratched a red Toyota Sienna car. I think he wanted to park his vehicle and see the level of damage done to the Sienna car, but the owner was impatient, he blocked the Campaign DG’s car and came out brandishing a machete which he used to inflict a cut on the head of the campaign DG.
“He gave him another cut on the hand when the man was still covered with blood from the cut on his head. That when somebody who recognized the campaign DG moved to attack the man whom we didn’t know was a DSS official and would have lynched him but he was saved by the police,” the eyewitnesses said.
The DSS official was arrested and taken to the police station while the campaign DG is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Umuahia.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, was yet to comment on the incident as didn’t respond to calls and text message, sent to his phone at as the time of filling this report.
However, a senior police officer who preferred anonymity confirmed that the incident and stated that the DSS is currently in police net.