Cyberbullying: Bayelsa blogger demands probe suspect’s death

From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

A Bayelsa State blogger, Bodmas Kemepadei, has demanded a probe into the death of a Bayelsa youth, Patrick Peresuodei.

Kemepadei and Peresuodei had been at loggerheads on Facebook, with the latter allegedly threatening the former.

Kemepadei had lodged a complaint of threat to life, criminal defamation, and cyberbullying with the police against the deceased.

Investigations revealed that the deceased was arrested and detained by the police before he was eventually released on bail to his family after the police discovered that he was exhibiting signs of mental instability.

However, the family stated that some persons must have assaulted the deceased before he died.

Kemepadei, in a statement issued in Yenagoa, while denying complicity in the death and demanding a probe, including submitting self for investigation, disclosed that he has already written a statement at Amassoma Police Division.

According to him, he did not seen the deceased when he was arrested and was even shocked when he was told by the police that he had been released on bail without being charged.

‘’On January 19th, 2026, as my legal team and I prepared for court, I received a call from the police informing me that the deceased was exhibiting signs of dementia, mental instability owing to the intake of hard drugs and other illicit substances, which had been in his system before his arrest. These were the words of the investigating police officer.

‘’On the 20th day of January, I called the Police Force to remind them that the matter should proceed to court, but they explained that the deceased’s mental condition was not yet stable, as the hard drugs were beginning to have so much effect on him; therefore, they recommended releasing him for medical treatment.