…Warns Against Assault of Marshals
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Corps Marshal of Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has flagged off the second phase of Operation Cobra, with warning to motorists to avoid assaulting FRSC Marshals on duties or risk being commuted to prison.
Oyeyemi stated this on Wednesday while launching eight additional patrol vehicles and equipment as part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of the special operation.
According to him, the injection of new patrol vehicles and other operational facilities into the special operation became imperative in view of the need to strengthen the capacity of the operation to meet the peculiar traffic management demands of the FCT which serves as the nation’s capital. He noted that whatever happens in the FCT has replicating effects on other cities in the country.
The Corps Marshal recalled that the Special Squad code named, “Operation Cobra,” was launched in June this year with special focus on curtailing the incidence of Traffic light violation, use of phone while driving and route violation which became pervasive among the drivers in the FCT and accounted for most of the fatal crashes recorded in the city.
He however observed that since the commencement of the operation with aggressive determination of members of the squad to restore sanity to the roads, the rate and fatalities of road traffic crashes in the FCT have gown down tremendously, assuring that the aggressiveness of the operation would be sustained throughout the festive period and beyond.
The Corps Marshal urged motorists in the FCT to always obey traffic rules and regulations to avoid arrest, saying those that violate those identified offences like traffic light violation, use of phone while driving and route violation would continue to be subjected to psychological evaluation in government hospitals to determine their health status and ability to operate vehicles. He further disclosed that since the commencement of the special operation, a total of 8, 309 traffic violators have been apprehended, while 4,439 of them were referred to the various government hospital and facilities for necessary psychological evaluation.
“41 of the referred traffic violators tested positive to the tests carried out on them and their driver’s licences have accordingly been confiscated. Such offenders would only get their licences back after undergoing further medical procedures to prove their ability to drive again,” he stated.
Oyeyemi commended members of the special squad for displaying high level of discipline, commitment to duties and diligence in prosecuting the operations. He expressed optimism that with the additional patrol vehicles and equipment, sanity would be restored on the roads in the FCT, stressing that those that don’t want to be subjected to the medical evaluation should avoid committing the identified offences as the Corps is determined to bring the perpetrators to book.
He expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for its support to the FRSC, assuring that with more funding, additional operational facilities would be released to the squad to facilitate the success of the operations. The Corps Marshal equally commended the Minister of FCT as well members of the National Assembly for their support for safer road environment. He noted with particular interest that the upward review of fines being carried out by members of the National Assembly could serve as deterrence to those with penchant for committing traffic offences.
The Corps Marshal also thanked members of the press for promoting the ideals of safer road environments in the country, saying road safety is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders.
Highlight of the event which was witnessed by some principal officers of the FRSC at the National Headquarters Abuja, was the cutting of the tape to formally launch the new vehicles and equipment.
