The Enugu State Police Command has said its operatives prevented a blockade of traffic on the Enugu-Makurdi highway by aggrieved truck drivers protesting alleged ill-treatment of a colleague.
A statement yesterday in Enugu, the state capital, police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said operatives of Udenu Division and other nearby divisions pleaded with the truck drivers.
It said the incident, which started about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, took place at Ohulor community in Udenu Local Government axis of the road.
The statement said the driver of a DAF truck, with registration number XB 636 PKM, was reportedly travelling from Enugu to Makurdi when two boys emerged with big stones at the former state Commercial/Produce Control point on the road to stop the truck.
The driver, the police said, swerved to avoid hitting the boys.
The statement said this resulted in the truck’s bucket falling off and spilling its pasta Macaroni content on top of a van conveying drinks.
It said the timely arrival of police operatives prevented what would have caused a breakdown of law and order, as other angry truck drivers attempted to block the highway.
The police said: “Henceforth, any person or group of persons caught blocking the road or disturbing free-flow of traffic will be prosecuted in line with the relevant sections of the law.”