The Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, was humiliated and ordered out of his Land Cruiser bulletproof SUV by soldiers over the killing of five military personnel at Obikabia junction military checkpoint in Aba, Abia State on Thursday.
Trouble began when unknown gunmen killed five soldiers at a military checkpoint at Obikabia junction on Thursday during the May 30 Biafra Day celebrations.
In response to the incident, security forces deployed reinforcements and blocked roads in key areas of Aba North Local Government, extending into some villages in the Obingwa area.
While Abaribe was on his way to attend a funeral ceremony in Obingwa, he encountered a military barricade at Itu Ngwa village, and his vehicle was stopped.
His police security detail, Joe, attempted to explain to the soldiers, but they insisted that Abaribe must alight from his vehicle.
He eventually got down from the bulletproof car and was delayed for some time before being allowed to proceed.
According to some of those he spoke with at the funeral, the APGA Senator said that after the soldiers humiliated him and later allowed him to go, he called Governor Alex Otti, and explained what had happened, requesting the governor to issue a statement to calm the tense situation.
But Otti, according to a source, told Abaribe that he would not issue any statement so as not to aggravate the situation.
According to another source, while Abaribe was on his way home after the funeral, he was stopped again by another group of soldiers who also ordered him out of his bulletproof SUV.
He came down and again introduced himself as a senator, but they insisted that he could only leave when they allowed him to. They kept him for some time before releasing him.
Abaribe later detoured to Umuahia instead of his village, Ohuru in Obingwa LGA from where he returned to Abuja with the first flight on Friday.
