Extortion: FRSC Collaborates With ICPC, DSS

BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Following recent allegation of extortion of motorists on Nigerian roads by operatives of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), the Corps is to collaborate with operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to apprehend culprits as party of measures to rid it of bad eggs.

This was made known by newly posted Zonal Commander of the FRSC, Zone Rs.12 Bauchi, ACM Rotimi Adeleye, who said that the collaboration will help the Corps in tracking down the operatives who engage in the act of extortion of road users across the country.

The Zonal Commander who was at the NUJ Press Center, Bauchi on a familiarization visit towards building a working synergy, expressed concern over the battered image of the Corps caused by the negative acts of a few bad eggs within its fold.

Adeleye explained that the FRSC management also has an Intelligence Surveillance unit which goes out regularly to monitor the activities of the operatives saying that the development is worrisome but not unredeemable.

Adeleye said; “We have a few bad eggs who engage in extortion but the Corps has put in place various measures to monitor the operatives on our roads. Anyone caught in the act will be punished in accordance with the relevant laws of the country.”
On the Yuletide period, Adeleye lamented that people have associated the period with accidents explaining that 70 percent of the accidents are caused by human errors and therefore urged motorists to be extra careful while on the road.

He said that the FRSC particularly in the Rs.12 Zone, made up of Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states has set machinery in motion to achieve the Zero accident level during the season and beyond.

Responding, the NUJ Council Chairman, Umar Sa’id commended the Federal Government for approving money for the repairs of roads across the country with the aim of reducing carnage on the road.

Sa’id noted that the FRSC is playing an important role in the safety of roads across the country which was the main reason for the establishment of the Corps in 1988, saying that the roads must be kept safe at all the times.