The FRSC wants to arm its operatives and why we should be worried

Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC), Chairman, Akinfolarin Mayowa, is planning to enforce the 1992 Act of FRSC that allowed the corps to carry guns. According to a report by Daily Times, FRSC operatives will begin to bear firearms in measures to curtail the excesses of road users in Nigeria.

This development was said to have happened at the corps’ 2020 budget performance and 2021 budget defence with The House of Representatives Committee on FRSC, Thursday, 5 November in Abuja. However, this is not the first we will hear of it.

In 2016, there were reports of FRSC distributing arms to corps members and mandating them to carry it. The news, however, was denied by the FRSC who released a statement urging members of the public to ignore the reports. In 2018, another report claimed that the FRSC bagged the federal government’s approval for their officers to carry firearms. However, it appeared that it was never implemented. For both reports, Nigerians have always questioned why there’s even a debate if the FRSC should be allowed to bear arms,

Essentially, this development, according to the chairman is a step in the direction of reducing the altercation often experienced between corps operatives and Nigerian road users. The chairman in his defence on the need to fund corps members with guns, stated that for the longest part, corps members have always been on the defensive side with violent road users and arming their operatives will help reduce such violence and curtail violent road users.

On social media, however, his statement were welcomed with heavy criticisms as many Nigerians shared their reaction to the news.

Here are a few:

It is quite alarming that the FRSC is now planning to start moving about with guns. While we may have seen a few security and law enforcement agencies operate with guns, giving more guns to more and more agencies only goes further to create fear and intimidation for Nigerians. It is also quite alarming when you consider how Nigerians have, over the past few weeks spoken harshly against police brutality and the extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the police just because they have guns. We have debated that of the police. Are we to start worrying that the FRSC who are sworn to ensure ‘Road Safety’ will do this with guns?

While we may have road users who are violent and have carried out vices against FRSC operatives, there are laws that should be enforced to bring them to book. Funding the unit with guns should just be out for consideration. Rather than giving these operatives guns and weapons to scare road users and possibly increase violence and extra-judicial killings, how about they pay attention to building a technology-driven traffic system where culprits are caught automatically – speed trackers, road cam monitors, and efficient traffic lights?

We have enough armed police officers and soldiers stationed at major roads. So why arm the FRSC at all? If there’s a need for them to be armed, it can be organised in a special unit that will work with the police and other security operatives in bringing traffic offenders to book – not because ‘motorists have threatened personnel on duty in the past.’

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