Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
In a swift response to the urgency to halt the rising cases of traffic infractions occasioned by the use of trailers to convey passengers and the attendant fatalities, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dauda Ali Biu, has inaugurated a Joint Task Force to arrest and prosecute offenders involved in such traffic infractions.
The Joint Task Force, Biu said comprises the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, State Traffic Management Agencies, and operatives of the corps.
Others who were drafted into the task force, he disclosed, include representatives of the various transport unions.
Biu in a statement made available to the press yesterday by the Deputy Corps Marshal, Corps Public Education Officer FRSC Headquarters, Jonas Agwu hinted that the inauguration of the JTF which is in phases commenced with the commissioning of the team to man the Kaduna-Abuja expressway yesterday at Kakau Toll Gate, Kaduna State.
The Corps Marshal, who was represented by the Assistant Corps Marshal, Federal Operations, ACM Zubairu Mato, emphasised the cardinal role of the Joint Task Force.
According to Biu, in the last couple of months, “the highways have witnessed incidences of road traffic crashes involving trailers loaded with goods, animals, and persons.
“In most of these crashes, several innocent people who were seen perching on top of goods in such vehicles were killed and the commodities being conveyed also damaged extensively.”
He noted further that, to reverse the ugly trend, the JTF was directed to embark on effective special patrol operations as well as conduct mobile court operations on the commissioned route.
“They are to also ensure immediate prosecution of apprehended offenders. The exercise will be carried out across major corridors nationwide.
“Consequently, owners of trailers are admonished to warn their drivers against these traffic violations as the corps will not spare anyone caught in the act,” he said.
