The job of FRSC is road safety, not law enforcement, and there is no aspect of their job that arm bearing has been touted as an absolute necessity that can’t be addressed with technologically-assisted enforcement
Law and order aren’t exactly attributes that Nigeria can pride itself on. Laws are broken faster than they are made and order is mostly the luxury of those who revel in violence. In Nigeria, many don’t have regard for law and constituted authority, not because they don’t want to but when the actions and decisions of those at the top, who should live and lead by example, are wrapped in the tinfoil of impunity and draped in the shawl of lawlessness, the incentive to act and behave like a sane law-abiding citizen is lost. To this end, laws and regulations that citizens should ordinarily obey without being coerced are being enforced with brute force. And the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is already thinking along that line: to use force to enforce traffic rules and road regulations.
For a while now, the FRSC leadership has been harping on the need for its officers and marshals to bear arms to aid their job. The agitation for arms by FRSC was vehemently rejected by Nigerians, especially road users, many of whom have been at the receiving end of the troubling shenanigans of erratic firearm-bearing security officers and paramilitary personnel. On Thursday, October 10, 2024, a bill to amend the FRSC Act 2007 passed Second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill sought to amend Section 19 of the Act by establishing a Road Safety Special Armed Squad, which will bear arms for the purpose of carrying out high-risk operations under the purview of the functions of the FRSC. The extant provision of section 19 of the Act already entitles personnel of the Road Safety Corps exposed to high-risk operations.
However, not much has been heard of the bill since it scaled second reading last year. Nevertheless, the subject and debate of FRSC marshals carrying firearms have not disappeared from public discourse. The subject was broached again today by the Corps Marshal of FRSC, Shehu Mohammed. Mohammed opined that it would be impossible to enforce traffic regulations on the nation’s highways if the commission’s officers are not allowed to bear arms.
Other than the purported helplessness of officers when dealing with overloaded heavy-duty trucks on the highway, Mohammed did not exactly advance any convincing and compelling arguments to buttress his assertion of why his men should be allowed to bear arms. Many Nigerians have had their fair share of malevolent treatment at the hands of security personnel. The last thing they want is an officer of an agency saddled with maintaining sanity and orderliness on our roads, wielding a rifle menacingly in the faces of motorists and travellers, hence unsettling them and making it difficult for them to concentrate while driving.
Some may argue that some road safety agencies worldwide, like the US Highway Patrol, carry firearms. But the firearms they carry are for personal protection not to be used against motorists or travellers. Nigerian uniform men aren’t exactly reputable for their restraint, tact and emotional intelligence. They unleash their firearms at the slightest provocation. The job of FRSC is road safety, not law enforcement, and there is no aspect of their job that arm bearing has been touted as an absolute necessity that can’t be addressed with technologically-assisted enforcement, like Automatic Vehicle Local and Automated Traffic Enforcement systems; Advanced analytics and data platforms, amongst others.
Furthermore, arming FRSC officers may lead to them usurping the duties of other security agencies like the police and the civil defence. If the agitation to allow FRSC marshals to carry firearms is rooted in personal safety and protection and not for the enforcement of road regulations, then the agitator’s argument may be logical, but in this case, it is not for personal safety but intimidation and coercion of road users. We don’t need AK-47-wielding marshals on our highways. There is already a growing global shift towards non-militarised, technology-driven road safety initiatives. Nigeria should also embrace such an initiative