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FRSC probes official sitting on bonnet of vehicle as driver avoids arrest

Ezekiel Johnson
Ezekiel Johnson
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The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has recalled for investigation and disciplinary actions, members of its patrol team seen in a video circulating in the social media, with one of its officials dangerously on the bonnet of a vehicle whose driver was attempting to avoid arrest.

This is as it also vowed to arrest and prosecute the driver who abandoned his vehicle and ran away.

The incident was said to have happened along Ikorodu Sagamu Road on Monday.

The FRSC while expressing sadness over the incident, said none of its guidelines allowed its officials to endanger his or her lives in order to effect an arrest.

It said that was why it had made use of technological devices in its operations.

The statement issued by the spokesman of the FRSC, Mr. Bisi Kazeem reads in full:

The attention of the Federal Road Safety Corps has been drawn to a viral video circulating in the social media where a patrol team member of the Corps was seen on the bonnet of a vehicle (Honda Odyssey) whose driver was attempting to avoid arrest having been accosted by the team for committing the offence of seatbelt use violation.

The incident occurred on Monday, July 6, 2020 along Ikorodu-Sagamu road during a special joint patrol operations targeted at enforcing the Presidential Task Force directives on physical distancing and overloading amongst passengers to curb further spread of the coronavirus.

The Corps Marshal is deeply saddened by the development and has ordered the entire team to be recalled to Lagos State Sector Command for investigation and appropriate disciplinary actions in line with the Corps’ regulations; while the erring driver faces immediate prosecution in a court of competent jurisdiction.

It is expedient to state that the Corps’ operational guidelines do not allow personnel to stand in front of any vehicle to effect arrest at the detriment of their own safety while stopping the vehicle. For emphasis, a staff does not need to commit suicide while stopping an offender that is already on a suicide mission, because every arrest of an offender is expected to be done within safe and professional limits in line with their training and operational guidelines and not to unnecessarily put their own lives in danger while attempting to arrest a fleeing offender.

That is why the Corps has been deploying technology to track all cases of absconding recalcitrant drivers of this nature and bring them to justice.

Motorists are warned to note that the above scenario is  not a guarantee for drivers to continue to disobey traffic laws and exhibit such dastardly acts that put the  lives of law enforcement agents at risk.  Consequently, the Corps will utilize every legal option within its powers to arrest and prosecute the absconding dangerous driver who having realised his folly, abandoned the vehicle and took to his heels.

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