Three injured as Federal Fire Service personnel attack JED staff in Bauchi

 

At least, three persons were injured on Thursday after men of the Federal Fire Service attacked staff of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc staff at its Yelwa area office in Bauchi State.

The attack, which was reportedly led by the Assistant Controller of Fire Service in the state, Usman Yakmut, left three staff injured.

It was gathered that trouble started when Yakmut, who went to the Regional office with the purpose of capturing his prepaid meters was politely asked to park his vehicle at the visitor’s parking lot but he refused saying that as a “military” officer, he was supposed to drive into the premises.

JED spokesman, Adakole Friday Elijah, in a statement, said all efforts to persuade him that visitors were not allowed to drive into the premises fell on deaf ears as he called on his men to invade the office.

“Upon arrival, Yakmut ordered his men who came in two official vehicles descended on all the staff on duty.

“Some of the staff were beaten to a stupor while others received minor injuries.

Saga Gist gathered that it took the intervention of the police and civil defense men to bring the situation to Order.

However, the Controller of Fire Service, Federal Fire Service in Bauchi, Usman Yakmut, while reacting, said his men attacked Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc staff at its Yelwa area office in Bauchi on Thursday because he was locked up by the JED security personnel.

Narrating what happened, Yakmut, who spoke through the Assistant Controller of Fire Service, Haruna Ajiya Joji, stated that fighting occurred between personnel of the two companies as a result of his being locked up by the JED security officer yesterday.

“The Controller went to the Yelwa branch office of JED together with his orderly to settle his prepaid metre bills.

“On reaching the gate of JED office, the gateman refused to open the gate. His orderly came down from the car and informed the gateman that it is the Controller of Federal Fire Service who was in the car and urged him to open for them but he still refused to open.”

He stated that the controller’s driver was forced to go and open the gate, which was slightly closed and drove into the premises.

According to Yakmut, “immediately he entered into the premises of the JED, he went directly to the office of the chief security officer to report what transpired at the gate to him but unfortunately, he was not on seat.

“There and then, he (controller) collected the chief security officer’s phone number, called him and informed him of what went on there.

“The chief security officer asked him (Yakmut) to wait for him in the office and that he was going to call someone in the office to attend to him. He waited for him for about 15 minutes, not knowing that they had locked the gate again.

“Having waited without any result, the controller started to call the security officer without any success as he had switched off his phone.”

“Our men were angry that their controller was trapped,” he declared.

Joji confirmed that three persons were injured in the ensuing melee, informing that two of them are from JED, while the remaining one is a fireman.

When contacted, the state police command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the incident, saying that two persons were injured in the attack.

According to Wakil, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), the firemen invaded the JED office at about 11am on 22nd October, and beat some JED staff.

“They (fire servicemen) beat some of the staff of JED. About two of them sustained various degrees of injuries in the attack.

“The victims, Musa, who is 24-year-old and another staff, who is 40-year-old, were beaten by the men of fire service,” DSP Wakil informed.

The PPRO further said that immediately after the incident was reported to the police, police operatives from GRA Division swung into action and evacuated the victims to Tashan Babiye Primary Healthcare Centre in Bauchi for treatment.

He, however, informed that the matter is being investigated by the police, saying that, “the matter is still with the police and under investigation. We will get to the root of the matter.”