A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Alex Ikwechegh, on Sunday, assaulted an e-hailing driver who went to deliver a package to him.
But in a post on its X, the Nigeria Police Force said it was handling the case following the driver’s official report. It warned the public to stop using the name or the office of the Inspector-General of Police to intimidate others.
The distressed driver, Stephen Abuwatseya filmed what transpired between them in the Maitama, Abuja’s residence of Ikwechegh, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who represents Aba North and South Federal Constituency in the Green Chamber. The video has since gone viral.
The video depicted the visibly angered legislator repeatedly slapping and insulting the driver for telling him to come out and get the snail the driver was meant to deliver to him.
In the footage, Ikwechegh insisted that the request was disrespectful given his social status while threatening to make the driver “disappear” without facing any consequences.
The lawmaker said: “Do you know who I am? I can make this man (driver) disappear in the whole of Nigeria and nothing will happen. Can you imagine this rat? I am not going to give this boy one naira of my money.
“I am not going to call my policemen to beat you up, I will do that myself. I will show that I am a big brother to you, tie you up, lie you down and put you in my generator house. Do you know where you are? Because you saw me sitting outside here. Look at this monkey”.
When the driver requested the delivery fee, the politician slapped him multiple times querying if the driver knew who he was talking to.
“Do you know who I am I just slapped you and there’s nothing you will do. My name is Honourable Alex Ikwechegh, tell them (public) I slapped you. Call the Inspector General of Police that I slapped you, let him come. Record me very well”, he boasted.
In September 2023, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, Abia State capital, led by Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe, sacked Emeka Nnamani, who is a member of the Labour Party and ordered that a certificate of return be issued to Ikwechegh, who came second in the 2023 general election.
Nnamani was sacked based on certificate forgery, a claim that he described as a “lie from the pit of hell”, adding, “there was nothing like the court banning me, Emeka Nnamani, for 10 years from contesting an election in Nigeria. That’s a fallacy and a fabrication from the pit of hell, used regularly by opposition parties to pull us back”.
The police’s post on X reads: “The Nigeria Police Force is aware of the incident between a Bolt driver, Mr. Stephen Abuwatseya, and Hon. Alexander Ikwegh, which took place on 27 October 2024, in Maitama, Abuja. The FCT Command is actively handling the case following Abuwatseya’s official report at the Maitama Divisional Headquarters.
“The Police Force also urges the public to refrain from using the name or office of the Inspector-General of Police to intimidate others, as such actions undermine the values of impartiality that the IGP’s office upholds”.
According to the police, using the IG’s name or office could undermine the values of impartiality that the office upholds in the country.
