- FRSC spokesperson said a disciplinary panel reduced the rank of seven officers involved and redeployed them from their command.
- Ogungbemide stressed the corps would punish misconduct within its ranks while protecting officers against physical assaults from motorists.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has dismissed a viral video showing a naked tricycle rider confronting its personnel in Benin.
The corps said the clip, which resurfaced online this week, was first recorded on July 16, 2020.
The agency explained that the confrontation took place on the Benin–Sapele Road, Edo State, and was long concluded.
Olusegun Ogungbemide, the FRSC spokesperson, described the video’s re-emergence as the handiwork of mischief-makers seeking online traffic.
“The attention of the Federal Road Safety Corps has been drawn to a viral video showing a tricycle rider, unclad, violently confronting operatives of the corps and damaging a patrol vehicle along the Benin–Sapele Road in Edo State,” he said.
“The recirculation is a calculated act by mischievous handlers whose intent is nothing but to attract traffic to their social media pages, misinform the public, and stir unnecessary emotions over a matter that has long been resolved,” he added.
The spokesperson identified the tricycle rider as Adeshine Adeyemo.
Adeyemo was arraigned before chief magistrate F. Ojehumen of the Evbuoriaria Magistrate Court, Benin, under case number MEV/117C/2020.
He was convicted on January 11, 2021, and sentenced to three months in prison for malicious damage and breach of the peace.
Ogungbemide said the corps also reviewed the conduct of its men captured in the viral footage.
He noted that a disciplinary panel tried the seven-man patrol team and sanctioned them for unprofessional behaviour.
“After due process, the team was reduced in rank and redeployed from their command,” he stated.
He stressed that the corps would not condone assaults on its operatives but would equally punish officers guilty of misconduct.
The spokesperson warned that recycling the old video could mislead the public into believing the incident happened recently.
“The corps therefore urges the general public to disregard the video as an old story, already addressed comprehensively through judicial conviction of the offender and disciplinary sanctions on the staff involved,” he said.
Ogungbemide reaffirmed the FRSC’s commitment to safer roads and respect for human dignity.
He urged Nigerians to cooperate with road safety personnel to achieve order on the highways.
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