FRSC: “WE CHASED THE FLEEING DRIVER” — SECTOR COMMANDER DENIES ABANDONING KEKE RIDER KILLED IN YENAGOA
By Chris Mark
The Bayelsa State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has denied allegations that its officials abandoned a commercial tricycle rider who was fatally crushed along the Okaka Expressway on Monday, saying officers left the scene to chase the fleeing Dangote truck driver.
Sector Commander of the Bayelsa State FRSC Command, Corps Commander Sylvanus Ordu, made this known while reacting to the incident that claimed the life of a keke operator between Ekeki and Okaka.
Corps Commander Ordu said his men were on traffic control at Okaka Junction, about 400 meters from the scene, when they got wind of the crash.
“This morning, my men who were in traffic control at the gate along Okaka Junction, 400 meters away from the incident, saw where people were gathered. So they left their gate to come and carry out their duties. There, they started pointing at them that they are the cause, that they blocked the road.
It was a Dangote driver that was on high speed. Instead of him to slow down, knowing today is Monday, the driver suspected and ran away. We alerted police, alerted army, who gave us support to run after the truck driver. We got him arrested and took him to the police station,” he said.
The Sector Commander confirmed that the truck driver was subsequently apprehended and is currently in police custody.
He dismissed the immediate backlash from local tricycle operators, describing it as a “transfer of aggression fueled by misunderstanding of how the accident occurred.”
In the wake of the tragedy, Corps Commander Ordu urged heavy-duty vehicle operators to strictly adhere to a 30km/h speed limit while navigating roads in the state.
He further mandated that all truck drivers who have not yet installed speed limiting devices in their vehicles do so immediately to avert future loss of life.
The fatal crash has renewed calls for safer positioning of checkpoints and better traffic management along the busy Okaka–Mbiama corridor.
