Our attention has been drawn to social media publications of a burnt
patrol vehicle belonging to the Federal Road Safety Corps with the caption “ FRSC
Don’t Have Fire Extinguishers and They Will Be Disturbing People Up and
Down, Rubbish”
Worried by the misleading contents of the said publication, we wish to
put this issue, in proper perspective. The burnt patrol vehicle was the fallout
from last week’s attack on FRSC operatives by officials of the National Union
of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) along the Kiyawa- Dutse road in Jigawa state.
For
avoidance of doubt, permit me to reiterate that the patrol team was
carrying out its legitimate duties along the Kiyawa – Dutse road in Jigawa
State when a team of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW)
officials challenged the team for daring to check vehicles for excessive
overloading and installation of the Speed Limiting Devices. They not only set
the FRSC patrol vehicle ablaze but also badly damaged another vehicle. The FRSC
office was also destroyed by the rampaging NURTW officials.
Sadly enough, the Jigawa incident resulted
in fatality as one person was killed and several others injured.
Permit me to add that as the nation’s lead agency on
road safety management and traffic administration, the Federal Road Safety
Corps remains the first law enforcement agency to be certified by the
International Standards Organization (ISO) on quality management systems since
2013. The idea behind ISO certification is to build and sustain a
process-driven government agency whose processes and procedures can be easily
evaluated and audited by a third party.
Under this arrangement, the FRSC patrol
procedures are been properly scrutinized to conform with contemporary global
trends.
Before any of our patrol vehicles leave for routine
patrol or rescue operation, aside from undergoing quality control inspection,
such is equipped with the necessary items : warning triangle (caution sign),
fire extinguisher, jack, spare tyre, first aid kit, wheel spanner, tow rope
among others to ensure that our patrol vehicle are not only road worthy but
also comply with minimum safety requirements.
It is most unfortunate that the misleading publication
of the burnt patrol vehicle is the product of uncensored and unregulated social
media process in the country where every smart owner is at liberty to take
shots and post randomly without regard to obvious violation of the ethics of
social media.
The Federal Road
Safety Corps remains committed to its resolve to reform the attitude of road
users in the country through its numerous efforts to bequeath an enduring
legacy on road safety management to Nigerians.
We are
therefore constrained to request that you give this reaction the commensurate
prominence, the misleading publication enjoyed.
Tags
Society