The Bayelsa State Police Command has commenced a preliminary investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a commercial tricycle rider in a road accident allegedly linked to a traffic enforcement operation by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps at Okaka Junction in Yenagoa.

The incident, which occurred on Monday morning along the Okaka Expressway near Okaka Primary School, claimed the life of the tricycle operator after his vehicle reportedly collided with a Dangote truck.

Eyewitnesses alleged that the crash occurred during an enforcement operation close to an FRSC checkpoint. Some residents claimed the actions of the officials contributed to the accident, while others alleged that the officers left the scene immediately afterwards, triggering protests by angry youths and residents.

The incident sparked outrage, with protesters describing the deceased as a hardworking father who was on his daily routine to earn a living for his family. They demanded a thorough, transparent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash and called for anyone found culpable to be held accountable.

Confirming the development in a WhatsApp message to PUNCH Online on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Bayelsa State Command, DSP Musa Muhammad, said the command had begun a preliminary investigation.

“The command has commenced preliminary investigation into the cause of the incident. Meanwhile, law and order has been restored,” Muhammad said.

Reacting to allegations against the FRSC, the Bayelsa Sector Commander, Corps Commander Sylvanus Oke-Ordu, denied that the agency’s personnel were responsible for the accident.

“FRSC officers left the scene not to evade responsibility but to pursue the truck driver, who allegedly attempted to flee after the collision,” Oke-Ordu said.

He added that the truck driver was later apprehended and is currently in police custody.

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The Abia State Government has secured the conviction of two child sexual offenders, who were sentenced to 30 and 10 years’ imprisonment respectively in separate defilement cases, in what it described as a major breakthrough in the state’s campaign against sexual and gender-based violence.

One of the offenders, a 35-year-old man from Akwa Ibom State, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by a Family Court sitting at the High Court in Umuahia for defiling a five-year-old girl, while another 32-year-old man received a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of defiling a 13-year-old girl.

The Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Umuahia while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.

Kanu said the convictions underscored the administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards sexual offences and served as a warning to perpetrators.

He noted that the convictions were among the landmark achievements of the state’s Nchedo Sexual Assault Referral Centre at the General Hospital, Aba.

“The centre has continued to provide coordinated medical, psychosocial and referral services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence,” he said.

The commissioner disclosed that the facility is currently handling two fresh cases involving a 60-year-old woman allegedly subjected to gang rape and a five-year-old child who survived defilement.

He added, “The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection has continued to implement the state’s social protection framework by identifying and supporting vulnerable residents that require urgent medical and humanitarian assistance.”

Speaking on the convictions, the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Ngozi Felix, said one of the convicts fled to Nasarawa State after committing the offence but was tracked and returned to Abia by the police for prosecution.

She described the prosecution as “one of the fastest recorded within Nigeria’s network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres,” attributing the outcome to collaboration among the Ministries of Health, Justice, Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as the Nigeria Police Force.

Felix also commended the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, for the command’s support during the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence cases.

She said the Governor Alex Otti-led administration remained committed to protecting vulnerable residents and ensuring justice for survivors of sexual violence.

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The body of a man was discovered beheaded on Tuesday at the Permanent Site of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State.

Our correspondent gathered that the victim’s severed head was taken away by the assailant(s).

Several students and staff members of the university, including the institution’s Chief Security Officer, Mr Agama Tangni, confirmed the incident to PUNCH Online in Jos on Tuesday.

According to the Chief Security Officer, the deceased was neither a student nor a staff member of the university.

“I can confirm to you that somebody was beheaded here. He is not a student, nor is he a staff member of the university,” Tangni said.

According to him, the identity of the deceased is known because of his regular presence at the location.

“But the identity of the deceased is known because the particular spot where he was beheaded is where he used to come for farming. He usually comes there very early in the morning,” he said.

Tangni said preliminary indications pointed to a targeted attack. “I don’t know whether the assailants have been monitoring him, but from the look of things, the attackers targeted him, beheaded him and went away with his severed head,” he stated.

He added that the deceased’s relatives had been notified and that the body had been deposited at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital.

“The relations of the deceased are aware, and his corpse has been taken to the Bingham University Teaching Hospital,” Tangni said.

The CSO said the university management had been briefed on the development and would communicate further with the university community.

“The University of Jos is already aware of the unfortunate incident, and they are going to send a memo or pass information to all the platforms of the institution,” he said.

The Plateau State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report.

When contacted, the command’s spokesperson, Alabo Alfred, could not be reached for comment as his phone indicated that it was switched off.

Meanwhile, security has been heightened around the university’s permanent site as investigations continue.

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