The Commissioner of Police, Delta State, Mohammed Ali, has ordered the detention of some patrol policemen accused of tear gassing travellers, including a girl, at Oghara, in the Ethiope Local Government Area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, in a release on Wednesday, said disciplinary measures would be taken against the operatives “to serve as a deterrent to others”.

The police spokesman disclosed that the attention of the command was drawn to the incident through Facebook posts by local online publications.

The PPRO, however, described as false reports that a girl died in the incident.

Edafe stated, “To put the record straight, the command wishes to state as follows: the patrol team attached to Oghara division, while on stop and search in Oghara, intercepted a Sienna vehicle conveying passengers from Sapele to Benin.

“An argument ensued between the policemen and the driver, which escalated to the use of tear gas by the policemen on the driver.

“The fumes affected a girl suspected to be an asthmatic patient. The police, on noticing that she was unconscious, tried to revive her.

“When she regained consciousness, she declined going to a hospital, insisting that she was Okay and wanted to continue her journey to Benin City. She entered the vehicle and they all went to Benin safely.

“While the conduct of the said policemen is condemnable and totally unacceptable, it is also pertinent to state that it is very wrong and highly unethical for some social media influencers and journalists to make publications without recourse to the genuine state of the matter.

“The Commissioner of Police, who has since ordered the detention of the policemen to serve as a deterrent to others, is also advising the good people of the state to make judicious use of their social media handles by telling their followers the truth and not deliberately misleading them because they want traffic on their pages.”