The Federal Road Safety Corps has condemned the action of a tricycle operator who stripped himself naked and attacked its officers in Benin, the Edo State capital.
The viral video showed a man sitting on FRSC patrol vehicle before attacking officers who later hit him repeatedly while he held on to the van.
Reacting to the incident through a statement, the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Bisi Kazeem, said the FRSC frowned at the incessant attacks on its officers and would no longer tolerate such act.
The statement read in parts, ” The tricycle rider who was arrested in Benin, along Benin/Sapele road for driving against traffic, went berserk at the point of arrest, stripped himself naked, and started throwing obstacles on both personnel and the patrol vehicle while at some point, even dragged the patrol operatives in uniform. During the attack, the man tore the staff’s uniform and not only damaged the windscreen of the patrol car, but disfigured the bonnet and other body parts with mud and stone.
”After going through the viral video, the Corps wonders why a section of the motoring public has continued to abuse unarmed personnel whose only fault is to ensure the safety of lives and property on the road? The Corps has therefore resolved never to condone such barbaric acts and damage to either its personnel or patrol vehicles any longer and is prepared to use this case to serve as a deterrent to others who are fond of molesting law enforcement agents.”
The statement stated further that though the Corps is a civil organisation, it does not condemn the use of ‘some commensurate force’ and self-defense techniques by the officers involved.
Kazeem said the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, who commended members of the public who helped in arresting the suspect has also ordered ‘the prosecution of the perpetrator of that crazy act of humiliation and recklessness on law enforcement agents’.
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