A Nigerian, simply identified as Arinze, was feared dead yesterday, after an expatriate working with the Arab Contractors Construction Company (O.A.O) threw him down from the second-floor of a two-storey building undergoing construction at the new Enugu State Secretariat, Enugu.
Investigation revealed that the expatriate, identified as Abdul Lateef, apparently from one of the Arab-speaking countries, allegedly pushed the deceased down from the building.
A source said that the expatriate, whom sources said is feared by many in the company for his brutality, pushed the deceased down after their disagreement on how a particular task should be carried out at the site.
Workers of the company had attempted to lynch the expatriate, but for the timely intervention of the police, who took him away.
Meanwhile, the Enugu State Police Command said it has commenced “a full-scale investigations into the alleged incident”.
A release made available to reporters in Enugu by the command’s public relations officer, Ebere Amaraizu, said “the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he is now responding to treatment”.
But the South-eastern zone of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) insisted that “the Nigerian who was pushed down by the expatriate has died”.
In a statement Friday in Enugu by its zonal director, Olu Omotayo, the CLO described the action of the expatriate as “a barbaric act in all ramifications. This is not the first time we are receiving complaints of torture and brutalisation of Nigerians by expatriates of some of these construction companies. These actions show how Nigerians have always been treated with disdain by these so-called expatriates in the construction companies.”
Omotayo further condemn the brutal killing of Arinze and demanded that the police charge Abdul Lateef for murder. “Nigerians cannot continue to be treated like animals in their own country,” he stated.
