Some personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from the Abudu Unit in Edo State have been detained following the death of Olusegun Adetunji, a cleric based in Onitsha.
The development was confirmed to PUNCH Metro on Thursday by the national spokesperson of the FRSC, Olusegun Ogungbemide.
According to Yemisi Adetunji, wife of the deceased, the incident occurred last Thursday while she and her husband were traveling from Onitsha to Ibadan when their vehicle was stopped by FRSC officials.
She recounted witnessing the officers assault her husband, using tear gas on his face before taking him away in their patrol vehicle. She later received the tragic news of his death.
She further explained that during an interaction between the FRSC officers and the driver, one of the officials asked to sit in the front seat and instructed the current occupant to move to the back, a request that was ignored.
Mrs. Adetunji recalled, “I was travelling with my husband from Onitsha when the FRSC officers stopped our vehicle. We were seven on the bus, including the driver. The driver had a conversation with them, and one of the officers requested to sit in the front seat, but the passenger who was sitting in the front seat declined.
“The officer jumped into the front seat and asked the driver to take him to their office, but the driver drove past the office. Other officers arrived and blocked our vehicle. They dragged the driver out and started to beat him, and they sprayed tear gas inside the vehicle.
“The officer who demanded to sit in the front seat attacked my husband and started beating him, and he also sprayed tear gas on his face, saying that he refused to come down for him. After this, they decided to leave with the vehicle.”
Despite pleading with the officers, citing her husband’s age, she said her concerns were ignored. When her husband asked to retrieve his belongings from the vehicle, they refused.
She added, “He followed their vehicle and after a while, I called to know where he was. I was informed by the person who picked up the call that he was dead. I went to where they were and saw his dead body.
“We were taken to the police station, and the police detained the officers. I don’t know what to say again because I am devastated by the incident.”
When reached for comment on Thursday, FRSC spokesperson Ogungbemide acknowledged the incident.
He stated that the bus driver was stopped for violating traffic regulations and allegedly attempted to divert an FRSC officer by driving away from the intended route.
He explained, “A mobile patrol arrested a bus driver for infraction and in our usual way, our official entered the bus to escort the vehicle down to the mobile court arena, and in the process, the driver abducted the marshal by going off their route.
“It took the efforts of other patrol teams to get the driver to stop, and they eventually succeeded in getting the vehicle arrested and securing the release of the abducted officer.
“So, all other passengers moved their items from the vehicle, and when the patrol team was going to the mobile court arena, the person in question insisted on joining them. It was in the process that they discovered that he was showing some unpleasant symptoms that led him to be taken to the hospital, where he was eventually confirmed dead.
“The police took over the case, and the investigation is ongoing to confirm what transpired. So, I learnt the police took into custody the patrol team and driver of the bus of the vehicle involved.”
In response to the allegation that tear gas was used during the encounter, he said, “I need to get the information from the police. I wouldn’t know, but our mode of operation does not attract the use of tear gas against passengers, which I will say is strongly disapproved of our style of operation.
“So, if, actually, at the end of the investigation, it is confirmed that that was what played out, then the officers will have to face the music.”
Advertisement
