By Straightnews
A member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Alex Ikwechegh, is undergoing questioning by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command.
The Police Command confirmed this on Monday, saying it has arrested the lawmaker for assaulting a driver in the nation’s capital.
Josephine Adeh, the spokesperson for the Abuja Command, confirmed that Alex Mascot Ikwechegh has been arrested.
Straightnews learnt that the Federal lawmaker had on Sunday, assaulted an e-hailing (Bolt) driver who went to deliver a package to him.
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The distressed driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, in a viral video filmed what transpired between them in Ikwechegh’s residence in Maitama, Abuja.
The video depicted the visibly angered Reps member representing Aba North & South Federal Constituency (APGA) 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.
“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.
Watch the video here: https://t.co/3yBaK8WgiR
“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.
Adeh said Ikwechegh is “at the Maitama Police Station undergoing questioning”.
The Police spokesperson explained in the statement that the cab driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, reported the matter to the Command.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that Mr. Abuwatseya was delivering a package to Hon. Ikwechegh when a dispute arose concerning the method of delivery. During this altercation, Mr. Abuwatseya was reportedly physically assaulted.
“The FCT Police Command expresses grave concern over Hon. Ikwechegh’s dismissive attitude toward the office of the Inspector General of Police following the incident.
“After allegedly slapping the victim, he reportedly remarked with contempt, ‘You can go ahead and call the Inspector General of Police,’ demonstrating a troubling disregard for the authority of law enforcement.
“Currently, the suspect is at the Maitama Police Station undergoing questioning,” the statement read.
The statement added that the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, Olatunji Disu, has mandated a thorough investigation into the matter.
“The Command is committed to conducting an impartial investigation and ensuring justice in all cases. Upon completion of the investigation, appropriate legal action will be taken.”
APC Chieftain angry over use of ’monkey’
Lauretta Onochie, a one-time aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari said ‘‘IF HE HAD IMMUNITY….. How did we get to the point where this young man is referring to a Nigerian, in Nigeria, as a MONKEY? That is RACISM. Totally unacceptable. And then, he assaulted the “monkey.”
Onochie who on her X handle wrote ‘‘Please, @PoliceNG, do the needful. He has no immunity. He is sadly, a Legislator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Police across the world follow crimes and make ARRESTS. No petitions are needed before ARRESTS are made.
‘‘Please @PoliceNG give the Nigerian Monkey back his dignity.’’
Recall that in September 2023, the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, 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, a candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who came second in the 2023 general election.
Nnamani was sacked based on certificate forgery.
The Appeal Court had in 2015 on the petition of Blessing Nwagba, sacked Nnamani on the ground that he was not a registered member of his then party, APGA in his ward at the time of the election and equally directed the police to investigate the allegation of certificate forgery against Nnamani, who said he graduated from the University of Port Harcourt.
After the Tribunal judgment, there was a report that the tribunal sacked Nnamani because of certificate forgery and that there was a court ruling banning him from participating in elections for 10 years.
Although the lawmaker has debunked and described it as a “lie from the pit of hell”, added, “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 records of what the court said at that time in 2015 are there. I do not want to bring the competence of the court into question because our jurisprudence is a perfect one and works according to the evidence available to them.
“As of 2015, there were lots of hiccups that my opponent took advantage of mentioning the institution they mentioned, and the institution has since then said that they had issues with the exams and records of the school, which led to misplacement of some records when they were moving from analogue to digital records keeping.
“There were cases of missing records and somebody went to that institution and took advantage of such a problem. But since then, the institution has cleared me,” he maintained.
