Chaos erupted in the Ogbogoro area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State on Thursday when a member of a task force allegedly delivered a fatal punch to a tricycle driver, identified as Esikak Esieme, during a dispute over a N200 ticket fee.
According to reports, the task force officials signaled Esikak to stop while he was carrying a passenger and demanded the money. However, Esikak explained that he had just begun his work for the day and did not have the requested amount yet.
An argument ensued, and during the altercation, one of the task force members, reportedly identified as ‘Osisi’ and believed to be a cultist, landed a punch on the 39-year-old tricycle driver, causing him to collapse.
Colleagues of the victim quickly rushed him to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Enraged by the news of Esikak’s untimely demise, tricycle drivers initiated a protest to express their grievances. They voiced their dissatisfaction with the daily harassment and extortion they faced from Osisi and his associates, bitterly recounting the brawl that led to Esikak’s tragic death.
Temporarily halting their operations, the infuriated tricycle operators marched from Ogbogoro to the premises of a popular radio station, Cool/Wazobia/Info FM, in Port Harcourt, demanding justice for their fallen colleague.
The President of the Tricycle Union in Ogbogoro Community, Ivumba Friday, accused Osisi of being responsible for the incident. Friday described him as a “cultist” and “hoodlum” who had made life unbearable for the tricycle drivers.
Friday further revealed that the suspect and his group had been imposing illegal levies on the tricycle drivers in the area for an extended period. He also highlighted instances where the hoodlums had repeatedly harassed a vigilante group named OSPAC in Ogbogoro, without any attempts made to apprehend them.
Friday stated, “Nsikak Esieme was murdered this morning by one Osisi, a cultist that has been terrorizing Ogbogoro and our people on a daily basis. We have been reporting this matter to OSPAC, even to the police.”
He continued, “Somebody should come and arrest this particular hoodlum that has been terrorizing keke (tricycle) people. The OSPAC will aid the Osisi in question to escape. Many times he used to break their windscreen in Ogbogoro.”
“Our keke people are law-abiding, and they pay their levies on a daily basis. Up till now that I speak to you, we don’t know the whereabouts of the corpse of our member that died.”
The elder brother of the deceased, Lucky Esieme, demanded the immediate release of his late brother’s body to the family. Holding back tears, he recounted the sequence of events leading to the tragedy, emphasizing the need to locate Esikak’s remains for proper burial.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, stated that she had not received a report on the incident as she was engaged in an extended meeting. She assured that she would follow up with the Ogbogoro Police Division and provide further information, but as of the time of filing this report on Thursday evening, no update had been received.
