- Prominent Nigerian pastor, Apostle Femi Lazarus, advocated against the establishment of an armed unit for the Federal Road Safety Corps
- The proposed bill has passed its second reading in the House of Representatives, receiving unanimous support from members
- TheRadar compiled reactions from the public below as many expressed that road safety challenges cannot be addressed with firearms
Prominent Nigerian pastor, Apostle Femi Lazarus, has urged citizens to raise their voices against the proposed bill to establish a specialised armed unit for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), which has recently passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.
This was disclosed on the Apostle's official X account, formerly Twitter where he said, “Lend your voices against this bill before we start seeing many lives wasted. If Nigeria needs solutions to road issues, we have too many intelligent minds that can solve this using technology.”
Bill proposes special armed squad for FRSC
The bill, introduced by Representative Abiodun Derin Adesida and Representative Olaide Lateef Muhammed, proposed changes to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Act of 2007 to enable the formation of a Special Armed Squad within the FRSC.
Members unanimously backed the bill after a voice vote, facilitating its passage to the second reading.
Nigerians have voiced their concerns against the bill, emphasising that we cannot address road safety challenges with guns.
Nigerians react over armed squad proposal for road safety
TheRadar compiled reactions from the public below:
“We can't solve our road safety problems with guns. #NotoGuns for Nigerian Road Safety,” Dr Arowolo Ayoola stated.
“If they arm FRSC officials, LASTMA and VIO will also demand same and that will be chaotic,” Eze Arinze commented.
“They've come back again. Trying to create another Federal Criminal Organisation to oppress the youth,” Great Damzi added.
“We can manage our road with technology not with guns,” Rachael Efe mentioned.
“no to Guns !!!!” Ola stated.
“Absolutely! Instead of passing harmful bills, let's harness the power of technology and innovation to solve Nigeria's road issues. We have the brains, resources, and talent—let,” Olamilekan Isreal reacted.
“What the work of a police man? Why are FRSC on our roads ? The still make us renew our papers yearly while we take our cars for inspection. What exactly are they doing on the roads?” Olumayowami Asake reacted.
FRSC unveils new digital tools to enhance road safety, others
Meanwhile, theRadar earlier reported that Between January and July 2024, Nigeria recorded 2,776 road traffic fatalities and 16,000 injuries, according to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume.
Subsequently, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) introduced a new mobile app and National Crash Reporting Information System (NACRIS) to improve road safety.