By Wisdom Nwedene, Abakaliki
An Ebonyi based legal Practitioner, Sampson Ekigbo, Esq has been hospitalised after being slapped by armed prison officials from the Abakaliki Correctional Center.
In a video seen by our correspondent, the prison officials could be seen slapping and threatening the lawyer with their guns.
Speaking with our correspondent in Abakaliki, Barrister Ekigbo identified the prison officials as one Mr Ifeanyi Nwovu, Mr. Ogwuma and another officer whom he couldn’t ascertain his name, all of them from Correctional Service Medium Centre, Abakaliki.
He revealed that Mr Ifeanyi Nwovu was the one that slapped him repeatedly while Mr Ogwuma was busy cocking his gun.
The legal Practitioners said that the armed officials Slaps and attacks have caused him severe ear injuries after he was diagnosed and confirmed to have sustained otitis media ear problem.
He maintained that the medical report was obtained from the Nigeria Police Medical Department at the State Police headquarters, Abakaliki signed by DSP Uche Okette.
The medical according to the petitioners report further stated following the pains sustained from the slap, Ekigbo was referred to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki for further treatment after receiving first aid.
The petition filed by his lawyers reads in parts:
“on the 26th day of November, 2024 at about 1400 hours, our client while on transit along Hariz Filling station axis of the ever-busy Abakaliki/Enugu Expressway, a tricycle collided with his vehicle.
“Upon the occurrence of the incident, our client packed his car across Hariz filing station and walked into the filing station to sort out how to fix his vehicle with the tricycle driver.
“While waiting for his mechanic, our client was just walking across the filing station when the the prison officials at about 14:27 hours drove in with a Green Hiace Hummer Toyota bus of the Abakaliki Medium Correctional Center and attempted to collude into our client.
“That our client merely asked the driver of Hiace Hummer Toyota bus whether he knows what he is doing and moved on, only for Mr. Pius Nwovu to alight from the bus with him arm/gun together with one tall dark officer and aggressively walked to our client and slapped him hard on his right ear, cocked his gun, pointed at our client and retorted aggressively thus ” I will waste you here and nothing will happen.
“Upon hearing this statement with a cocked gun pointed at him, our client was in grate fear for his life as he was uncertain as to next line of action the suspects will take”, the petition said.
