Shehu Mohammed, the Corps Marshal of FRSC said the organisation had recorded three major crashes that claimed the lives of 91 persons in the past month.
Speaking at a press briefing and meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Thursday, the Corps Marshal explained that the crashes included one in Niger State on September 8th that claimed 48 lives, another in Sabon Wuse on September 12th that claimed 18 lives, and another in Kaduna State on September 15th that claimed 25 lives.
He expressed concern over the record, pointing out that the three crashes were clearly avoidable.
Mohammed expressed concern that while the government was doing its best to provide and maintain transport facilities in accordance with global best practices, some road users, especially drivers, have continued to make a mockery of the efforts by exhibiting a high level of recklessness on the roads leading to the loss of lives.
Mohammed stressed that a special patrol operation will be instituted and enforcement would be carried out nationwide and directed commanding officers of the corps to ensure round the clock enforcement of traffic offences so as to mitigate the excesses immediately.
The Corps Marshal explained that the meeting was to address the current road safety challenges such as carrying inflammable substances, night trips, speeding, overloading and their devastating effects on the nation’s highways and expressed the hope that road crashes would drastically reduce by the end of the year after the meeting.
He observed that the challenges were a threat to the national health campaign and there was a need for collective action against road carnage on the highways.
Chief Buruche Julius, who represented Luxurious Buses Association, explained that their buses preferred to travel at night because the roads were free at night to enable them to travel conveniently.
He stated that the roads were in a bad shape due to several portholes, saying that the various vehicles travelling in the day time made the roads busy, hence night travels were faster and safer for the luxurious buses as they barely recorded crashes.
President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alh. Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, while speaking to newsmen, stated that tanker drivers have been advised several times not to drive in the night which they tried to adhere to.
He observed that sometimes the accidents were caused due to the bad roads but assured that the tanker drivers would always be sensitised to do the right thing and avoid crashes.
