William Attah, Gombe
Gombe State Government has called for calm after a Policeman shot a tanker driver during a disagreement on Gombe – Dukku – Darazo road.
The State Commissioner for Information, Julius Ishaya Lepes and his counterpart from the Ministry of Internal Security and Ethical Orientation, Adamu Kupto Dishi, made the call during a press briefing Monday afternoon.
Julius said the shooting took place during a disagreement when the tanker driver (Abdullahi Bello) refused the Policeman’s command for him to come down from his vehicle at a Police checkpoint at Hashidu junction Monday morning.
According to him, after the shooting, other tanker drivers immediately mobilized their tankers and blocked the road for several hours in solidarity with their colleague which caused commotion on the busy road linking Gombe and Bauchi through Darazo and to other Northwestern States.
He said government intervened immediately to forestall breakdown of law and order as the Policeman was disarmed and arrested, adding that the Police authorities in Gombe are currently investigating the cause of the incident.
He also assured that the victim was rushed to a hospital in Gombe town where he is stable and responding to treatment.
He called on the general public, especially road users on that route to go about their normal businesses as normalcy has been restored in the area.
Government, he said, has also reached out to the members of the tanker drivers association to calm their nerves get them to desist from taking the laws into their hands.
When contacted, the Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ishola Babaitan, confirmed the incident and assured that the said Police Inspector (Urbanus Ishaku) has been arrested while investigation has already commenced.
He also assured that any reckless Policeman that violates the norms of the Police Force will be dealt with according to the laws of the land. ” He will not go free, no matter who he is,” Mr. Ishola stressed.
