By Aideloje Ojo
Minna
Some hoodlums, including a suspected police inspector, have attacked a Niger state High Court Judge, Justice Mohammed Aliyu Maiyaki, beating him to stupor.
He was said to be travelling to Bida for the wedding ceremony of daughter of a Qadi (Sharia court judge), slated for Friday when the incident occurred.
The attack was said to have taken place on Thursday night at about 8.00 pm in Katerigi village, some few kilometres from Bida town, when he stopped to fix his wife’s car which had an electrical fault.
The wife, our correspondent gathered had earlier taken off before the judge, but midway into the journey her car broke down and immediately put a call through to her husband.
Justice Maiyaki, who at the time of the attack was without his police orderly, reportedly sustained deep cuts in the head following the use of sharp objects on him by the hoodlums before his friends from Bida came to rescue the situation.
Their quick intervention, according to our sources, followed distress calls from his wife. And without hesitation, the friends rushed him to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Bida, for urgent medical attention.
Blueprint learnt that Justice Maiyaki, holding the hands of his five-year-old daughter, had asked the villagers to assist in getting a motor electrical artisan to fix the car before the hoodlums swooped on him upon recognising him as a judge.
Eye-witness account said a man suspected to be an Inspector of police in drunken mood, had challenged the Minna High Court 4 judge over his mission in the village at that late hour, following which he allegedly slapped the jurist for not having cogent reasons.
It was learnt that other hoodlums joined the policeman in giving the judge the beating of his life and that even when Justice Maiyaki ran for cover in a nearby mosque; they followed and brought him out to face further assault.
Our correspondent gathered that an Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of CID is presently leading a team of detectives into the matter.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bala Ekenam, confirmed the story, adding that investigation into the matter was progressing and that no arrest had been made yet.
