An iron bender identified as Promise Nwosi has accused officers of the Anti-cultism Unit of the Rivers State Police Command of assaulting him for refusing to get hold of a man who ran pass him while being chased by the policemen along SARS road, in Rukpokwu, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Nwosi, who had a swollen face and injuries, cried as he narrated the incident to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The man said he left home to work at an estate along SARS road on Thursday morning when the policemen who were hunting a man got to him and started beating him.
Nwosi said the officers accosted him for refusing to catch the fleeing man when he ran past him.
“I went to work this morning. It was raining. So, I went to have my hair cut. When I was done, I came out of the barbing salon (barber’s shop) to buy a recharge card.
“I started hearing noise saying ‘catch him, catch him. As I looked outside, it was the anti-cultism pursuing someone. The boy just ran past.
“The man (an officer) walked up to me where I stood and asked me why I didn’t get hold of the person they were pursuing?
“I responded that I don’t know what happened when I came to buy a card.
“He started beating me. I managed to ask what I did. He said I refused to catch the person they were after. I said I didn’t know what was going on.
“They used a gun to hit my eye and my body. My teeth are even hurting me too. I didn’t commit any offence,” he said.
The distraught man said when he reported the matter to the leader of the team, the officer threw a N1000 note at him to go get treatment, saying he even lost his smart phone while he was being brutalised.
While insisting on justice, Nwosi said he wanted the policemen identified and made to face the law, pointing that he was having pains all over his body.
When contacted, spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, asked if the man reported the incident to the police.
She, however, promised to find out from the commander of the anti-cultism unit and get back to our correspondent.
Iringe-Koko had yet to give feedback as of the time of filing this report.
