Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi has retirated that the corp's decision to arrest every traffic law offender and ensure they go for a mental psychiatric test must take full effect from tomorrow July 1.
Speaking on Friday when he unveiled the 'cobra squad' which was directly under his office, he said 10 patrol bikes, 4 vehicles and 1 ambulance in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been provided for the squad to commence full implementation and help combat traffic law offences.
He said the corps has been facing challenges with five basic offences such as beating the traffic, calling while driving, one way traffic driving, over-speeding and over-loading offences hence the need to "throw the full weight of the corps to fight the challenges and bring it to an end."
Oyeyemi said the corps will have a partnership with the Ministry of Justice so that anyone caught in very trivial offences will be arrested and jailed irrespective of their status in the society and country hence they have the support of the National Assembly.
He said insisted that anyone caught committing any road traffic offence must be taken to the hospital to get a psychiatric test to ensure the person was okay before being punished for the offence.
He also called on people who drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs as well as people who get drunk and drive home after clubbing to desist from such act as they were endangering their lives and that of others.
Oyeyemi pledged to be part of the squad anytime they were on patrol to prove how serious the corps was and he will arrest any offender.
He said that similar teams and logistics would be deployed subsequently at the zonal level before the end of July.
"Let me sound a note of warning to all road users: the Corps will not tolerate any form of assault on its personnel."
"With the support of the Federal Ministry of Justice if need be, I will press for maximum punishment of culprits and ensure that I send them to jail."
"FRSC officials are law enforcement agents funded by the government to ensure the safety of Nigerians on the road, but road users especially passengers are fund of assaulting them."
"I will get them arrested and with the help of the Inspector-General of Police, criminal cases will be filed against them. It is not a threat, I have started that already,’’ he said.
He said that his earlier announcement of the mental stability test had been misinterpreted by a section of the public, said the Corps would remain focused in the discharge of its responsibilities.
"This is one of the criteria before you obtain licence. I just want to reconfirm the mental and psychological state of offenders before the appropriate sanctions are meted out on them."
``The Executive has also said it and we are getting the full backing of the Judiciary. So, this is a note of warning to reckless drivers.’’
He said the Corps must not allow few lawless drivers to endanger the lives of other road users, urging all hands to be on deck in the FRSC to restore sanity to the nation’s highways.
He solicited the cooperation and support of members of the public, private and commercial drivers and other road users.
The Corps Marshal said that flashpoint points of traffic violations in the territory would be effectively manned by FRSC officials backed by ambulances.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your view about the article in the Comment section.