By Ajibola Adedoye
Rather than engaging in the controversy of granting officials of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) the permission to carry arms, Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) have urged the National Assembly to focus its urgent attention to the deplorable state of roads across the country in other to make the roads motorable and safer because is no longer news that the national economy has been grossly hampered by the poor state of roads across the country.
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Comrade Alex Omotehinse, President CHSR, gave this submission while addressing journalists on the bill before the National Assembly seeking to allow officials FRSC access to the use of firearms on duty.
Comrade Omotehinse noted that
Nigeria faces the challenge of abuse of the use of arms and ammunition in the hands of security agencies in addition to the growing proliferation of arms with illegitimate access by non-state actors. The worsening threats constituted to national security by the number of agencies using arms is, to say the least, worrisome.
According to him, “Rather than seeking to grant access to FRSC officials to bear arms, we expect concerted effort at streamlining the use of arms and ammunition by security agencies towards demilitarizing the society. In addition to mopping illegal Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the possession of non-state actors, government must restrict the granting of blanket approval to agencies to procure and use arms considering the predilection for abuses by personnel.
“We therefore do not see the justification for granting the FRSC the approval to carry arms. We do not see how collective national interest would be advanced by turning the FRSC into an arm of security agencies in Nigeria.
“We call on the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and members National Assembly to reconsider the ongoing bill seeking for legislative approval for the use of fire arm by the FRSC.
“We consider the proposal as needless and wrong headed. Legalizing the use of firearms for the FRSC which is supposed to operate in a civilized environment will amount to further militarizing the polity.
“What Nigerians need at the moment is not an increase in the number of armed agencies but re-orientation of security agencies for civilized operation. Nigerians look up to the National Assembly to help and support a genuine quest for good governance that would allow Nigerians to live peacefully with one another. Therefore, we suggest that existing security agencies should be empowered and supported with relevant laws and oversight that would make them to function in civilised and responsible manner.
“We hope the plan to grant the FRSC permission to carry arms is not in furtherance of the frenzy for revenue generation by the Federal Government. Nigerian road users have suffered tremendously in the hands of various government agencies including the FRSC. We view the proposal to grant the FRSC access to the use of arms as curious, unfounded and dangerous.
“We are concerned that the rights, comfort and safety of road users will further be endangered by the bill being debated if eventually passed into law. We are not unaware of how officials of FRSC routinely subject motorists to delay and harassment the private on the pretext of checking vehicle particulars. Allowing FRSC officials carry firearms would lead to further increase in abuses against motorists as well as possible escalation of incidents of extra judicial killings.
“The FRSC should design training and re-training programs twice a year for the general road users as well as company drivers, and make regular training mandatory. Instead of lobbying to carry firearms, FRSC officials should concern themselves with their primary responsibility of taking care of accident victims on our roads which was why the agency was created” the CHSR President maintained.
The Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) is a public oriented, membership based non-governmental organization (NGO) with focus defending, sustaining and promoting the fundamental human and socio-economic rights of citizens and residents in any part of Nigeria as guaranteed by the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
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