An eyewitness has offered a different account of the incident involving a female officer of the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Agency (OYRTMA) and a commercial tricycle driver at General Gas, Ibadan, alleging that the traffic officer initiated the physical confrontation.
Earlier reports had stated that the motorist assaulted the female OYRTMA officer while she was controlling traffic around the General Gas bridge, where ongoing repair work has affected the movement of vehicles.
The suspect was reportedly arrested following the incident and taken to Akobo Police Station, with reports indicating that he was being detained pending arraignment.
However, an X user identified as Mamatee, reacting to the report, claimed she witnessed the confrontation and presented a different version of what transpired.
According to her, repair work on the bridge had reduced traffic movement to a single lane, forcing motorists travelling in different directions to navigate the restricted section.
She said a commercial tricycle, popularly known as Marwa, was beside her vehicle and attempting to pass through the affected section when the OYRTMA officer stopped the driver.
Mamatee alleged that the driver came down from his tricycle and began arguing with the officer, after which the officer used a whip she was holding to flog him.
She further claimed that the officer pushed the driver and struck him with the whip a second time while the argument continued, before the driver retaliated.
According to the eyewitness, people around the scene subsequently intervened, but she alleged that some bystanders joined in beating the driver without first establishing what had led to the confrontation.
She also alleged that another female OYRTMA personnel, who was not wearing a uniform, removed the key to the tricycle and took it towards the Akobo Kolapo/Iyana Church junction, where the vehicle and key were handed over to male OYRTMA officials.
“This world doesn’t favour men walahi. I pity the guy,” Mamatee wrote.
Her account subsequently generated reactions on social media, with some users arguing that, having witnessed the incident, she should have remained at the scene or made herself available to provide an eyewitness account on behalf of the driver.
The eyewitness account presents a different version of events from the earlier report that portrayed the OYRTMA officer as the victim of an assault while carrying out traffic control duties.
However, the allegations made by Mamatee have not been independently verified by Ibadan City Announcer.
As of the time of filing this report, OYRTMA and the Oyo State Police Command had not publicly responded to the eyewitness allegations or clarified the sequence of events that led to the confrontation.
