THE Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Rivers State has berated the police for its failure to arrest the commercial bus driver who knocked down and killed a journalist, Edward Alyemen, in Port Harcourt.

But the Rivers State Police Command has blamed its seeming failure to effect any arrest on lack of adequate information. The State Correspondent of Banner News, a Yenagoa-based weekly newspaper, Alyemen, was knocked down in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt by a driver, who escaped immediately after the incident. The victim later died at a private hospital due to loss of blood.

NUJ Assistant State Secretary, Anayo Onukwugha, said that journalists in the state were baffled that about three days after the tragic death of their colleague, the Rivers State Police Command was yet to arrest the driver.

“We therefore call on the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abdulkadir Indabawa, to step into the matter and ensure the arrest of the fleeing driver. This is as we believe that the arrest and prosecution of the driver will serve as a deterrent to other reckless drivers on the road,” he said.

The union also called on the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Rivers State Traffic Management Authority (TIMARIV) to step up control measures on major roads within Port Harcourt to prevent such ugly incidents.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the State Police command, Ben Ugwuegbulam, has attributed the inability of the police to arrest the hit and run driver on lack of adequate information on the driver.

He explained that officials of the private clinic, where the late journalist was rushed to, failed to collect full information on the driver who took the victim to the clinic.

Ugwuegbulam, who claimed that the police was promptly notified of the accident, has appealed to members of the public to avail the command any meaningful information that would lead to the arrest of the culprit.