Air travellers were left in utter shock and sent into panic mode as they saw a mob stop and attack a businessman at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
According to eyewitnesses, the victim, later identified as Mr. Chidi Kanu, CEO of Viko Nigeria, was pulled out of his car by a group of about 50 men who then pounced on him, beating him to a pulp on Friday, February 19, 2016.
The mob was identified as members of the Abuja Car Hire Association of Nigeria (ACHAN).
Kanu’s Viko Nigeria also runs a privately-owned car hire service at the Abuja airport.
According to reliable sources, all had not been well between Kanu and ACHAN following the latter’s disapproval of the former’s entrance into the car hire service business at the airport.
Sources say that Kanu incurred the wrath of the ACHAN operators because his company VIKO “runs an innovative and organized free-return service at a very reasonable cost for customers who have a return-leg of an air ticket to their destinations after completing their activities in Abuja.”
Apparently, the innovation endeared many travellers to VIKO which simultaneously fuelled resentment from other operators. And they have not been silent about their disapproval.
It was learnt the executives of ACHAN had, previously demonstrated disapproval and hatred over the right granted VIKO by FAAN to run car hire services at the Abuja airport. They had written series of protest letters to FAAN to stop VIKO from operating within the airport.
Each time, FAAN had affirmed the company’s right to legally operate in the airport. But the ACHAN operators would not be pacified.
Incidentally, Kanu had just left a meeting where he and representatives of ACHAN had entered a peace agreement to peacefully interact as they conduct their businesses at the airport when he was attacked.
The meeting, called by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), had in attendance representatives of the security agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force, Airforce, DSS, FRSC, Immigration amongst others.
Speaking to a team of journalists after the incident, Kanu said it was a clear attempt at murder just because he was trying to improve car hire services at a prime airport like Abuja, create jobs for the unemployed and help in lifting families out of poverty.
“It is just by the grace of God that I am alive to speak with you here. I must say this is more of a testimony than a press briefing. Because what happened to me can only be best described as a narrow escape from death. My attackers, the ACHAN members, were actually set out to take my life. And this is just because I was trying to operate according to best practices, create employments and assist the government in its efforts to reducing poverty in the country”, a visibly shaken Kanu lamented.
Kanu also urged the relevant security authorities to look into his case and bring the evil perpetrators to book, especially the leadership of the ACHAN, who spearheaded the attack while appealing to the federal government to improve security across the country and especially at the airports for the safety of the citizens and visitors to Nigeria.
-Poligist
