FRSC needs armed squad for night patrols – Corps Marshal, Mohammed

The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed, discusses his strategic focus since assuming office in May 2024, highlighting road safety, operational efficiency, and technological advancements in this interview with GIFT HABIB

Since assuming office in May last year, what has been your primary focus as the head of the FRSC?

I assumed office toward the end of May last year and started working earnestly in the first week of June. This is a government agency, meaning that leadership is a continuous process. The FRSC has a primary mandate; to reduce and minimise road traffic crashes; and to make and create a safe and secure environment for motorists and all other users. We also have secondary mandates.

So when I came in, I looked at how we can improve our mandates as an International Organisation of Standardisation. Firstly, I sought ways of rejigging the operations and re-directing new strategies to deploy our personnel to all the critical areas on the road, to increase our visibility. Secondly, there was a need to train and retrain staff from the management level to the middle level and the operational level. We have started that. Also, we sought to enhance technological advancements, including body-worn cameras, electronic document management systems, and more. On staff welfare, especially promotion, we carried out successful promotion exercises throughout 2024, and then we also carried out the harmonisation of Higher National Diploma certificate holders. We looked at collaborations and partnerships with relevant stakeholders because FRSC is one agency that relies heavily on partnership and collaboration. Lastly, I emphasise discipline, because it encourages and builds the professionalism required to stand out. We have zero tolerance for corruption and patrol misconduct, among others.

How is the FRSC addressing issues such as overloading, reckless driving, and unroadworthy vehicles, which are major causes of road crashes?

Such offences are challenging, especially by those motorists who are already bent on overloading and cannot do without speeding. So we initiated what we call “total war on critical offences”. It is a strategy to adopt total war against critical offences such as overloading, speeding, mixed loading, and driving under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating substances. We formed a kind of special operation on that and we try as much as possible to make sure that our operatives, wherever they are, dwell on those critical offences. The new trend of overloading is mixed loading where vehicles are loaded with goods and human beings or human beings and animals, especially on trucks. In most cases, when crashes occur, it is fatal, serious injury, or death. So we are focused on that. Another trend that I have also noticed is the tanker crash. The volume of trucks, tanks and tankers moving from one place to another daily is almost 6,000 on average. We do not need to call a tanker crash an incessant one because of the numbers that move around daily, and the crashes could occur once a month or sometimes in a quarter. However, where we express worry or concern is the lives that are lost due to the secondary factor (people coming to scoop fuel) which is usually fatal. But then, we are involving all relevant stakeholders to address most of the factors responsible for such crashes and probably be able to reduce such crashes to a minimum. We realised that 98 per cent of petroleum products are being transported by roads, unlike in other climes, where it is being transported either by pipe or by rail which is an issue.

Some highways, particularly the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, have become notorious for accidents. What measures are being taken to address high-risk or accident-prone zones?

Those states prone to these crashes are gateways. If you travel from the South to the North or from the North to the South, you must pass through those states because they are in the middle. Some are also prone in such a way that if you start the journey early in the morning, by the time you reach those states at night, the driver is already tired. If they do not stop to rest or switch drivers, as practised in some other countries, there is a higher risk of a road crash. To manage such situations, we increased our visibility. We increased the number of commands that we had, created more unit commands and outposts, and increased the number of staff that we normally post to those areas. When these drivers see us on the road, they are calm, reduce their speed or manage their driving habits to reach their destination safely.

What new strategies has the FRSC implemented to reduce road accidents in Nigeria?

The strategy adopted by the FRSC, just like any other road safety regulator, is global. We have the 5E strategies. In education, we teach people about the safety of the road. Engineering helps us implement our plans, our practices, and our actions. And then we also have enforcement, making sure that the people, the drivers, and all of the road users obey the traffic rules. Evaluation has to do with assessing the impact of what we are doing for the corps to move forward, and the last is empowerment. But when I came on board, we tried to improve on the 5Es by creating more unit commands, and outposts, and posting staff to build visibility on those accident-prone areas. Through stakeholders’ collaborations, we have built our relationship with the judiciary. We have also involved the National Assembly. We have rebounded the special marshal by updating their protocol and mode of operations. It is a collective responsibility to reduce road crashes across the country.

How has the introduction of body-worn cameras helped in addressing corruption?

The body-worn camera is a technology that gives us success mileage in the sense that it is online in real time. As our operatives are using body cameras while carrying out enforcement, the control centre here in the office is monitoring whatever happens on the road. This brings out transparency and accountability in what we do. The body-worn cameras help to checkmate our operatives and guard against poor practices and patrol misconduct. It also makes the motoring public aware that whatever is done to our staff, especially assaults, is being viewed, and we have evidence. So it gives us real-time evidence when we want to prosecute any offender who refuses to obey the rules or even wants to fight our staff. It is something that we are going to leverage and continue to provide those devices so that we improve on our mandates.

The Inspector General of Police recently announced the enforcement of third-party vehicle insurance. Isn’t that part of the FRSC’s responsibility?

We align with the police because road safety ideals are a shared responsibility and have a holistic approach. We are the only organisation that opened our tentacles to say that anybody can come as much as they possibly want to support us to reduce road traffic crashes and have zero fatalities. So if the IG is saying that they are going to enforce the third-party insurance just because they want to reduce road crashes, we welcome the idea. We are in support of that. Our primary mandate is not to enforce third-party insurance but to reduce road crashes and create a safer environment.

What role does technology play in educating motorists and enforcing compliance?

Technology is the ultimate and social media has taken over. We emphasise projecting all our programmes and strategies on social media. Technology is playing a great role in reducing road crashes and sensitising motorists and the general public. We also initiated what we call the FRSC apps. The apps encapsulate almost everything that social media is doing because we have what we call the eyewitness report in it. We also have the National Traffic Radio in it. The corps has subscribed to it 100 per cent to make sure that we continue to disseminate, sensitise and educate the motoring public and the general public on the ideals of road safety. The corps is coming up with a second version of the app where fines can also be paid and other agencies could be interacted with. It is a continuous process. We will continue to review because we get feedback from people about the functionality of the mobile app.

How do you handle cases of motorists who resist compliance or display aggression?

It is normal for human beings to be aggressive when apprehended after committing an offence, but we usually train our staff to be calm, persevere, steadfast, listen and not get confused whenever there are some attractions on the road. They can also seek support from other security agencies nearby. We have this toll-free line of 122 which they could call and then the office can also give them some support. There was a recent video clip where a lady molested and slapped one of our operatives. The operative did not retaliate. He was calm. The whole world saw it and probably supported him for the action taken. That is the character culture we are trying to build into our staff.

How about the crackdown on fake diplomatic, unauthorised number plates?

We have gotten reports from the embassies that they are getting embarrassed. They went to airports and public places and saw a completely different vehicle they were unaware of with their number plates. Almost three embassies came to this office and made that complaint. As a result, we wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of State Service, and the Police. We gave them the support. We started the operation to clamp down and as of February 3, 2025, we were able to apprehend almost 60 or more. We are carrying out an investigation with the DSS on those arrested. We are also trying to get the sources of where they got those number plates. I have also directed that we should extend the clampdown to other states. We are mindful of the fact that there may be some backlash. We have directed all our command officers to handle it properly.

Could you provide more details on the proposed armed squad for the FRSC?

When the tanker crash occurred in Jigawa State last year, President Bola Tinubu directed that FRSC should be able to extend their coverage till night. We are also looking towards that to cover most of the areas or places where traffic violations are incessant. This was the reason we pushed for the armed squad. You are aware that the armed squad bill has passed the second reading. We have done the public hearing. We are waiting for this budget to be sanitised and then approved before the House will continue with its procedure. And then probably they may come up with approval for us to have the armed squad. The idea of the armed squad is not necessarily for the night patrol but also to protect ourselves, our properties and our infrastructure. We are getting support from other security agencies but they are also overwhelmed. We are calling on the general public to see why the corps needs the armed squad. Going forward, it would help to reduce road crashes in the country and assist our men to promptly attend night rescues without any fear of attacks.

What is the FRSC doing on the activation of penalty points for traffic infractions?

We want to start the implementation as there is an approval for that already. The penalty points are made in such a way that certain offences, if committed by motorists, would accumulate on points and at a level in the build-up, there would be warnings and if the motorists continue to default, there would be suspension of licence and maybe outright withdrawal of his or her licence. The motorist will not be allowed to drive, and he or she must go back to an accredited driving school, and pass all the processes before he or she will be issued a new licence. The motorist would be denied access to any services linked to a driver’s license.

What is the current state of FRSC infrastructure and resources across the country? Are there plans to acquire new tools, vehicles, or technology to enhance operations?

We need additional staff and more offices, especially Quick Response Commands in the six geopolitical zones where we have ambulances, patrol vehicles, etc, so that we can quickly offer support whenever there are crashes. The idea is to be able to predict, prevent and be proactive in all our services. We also need more technologies such as body-worn cameras, devices that detect fake number plates, speed cameras, etc. to improve our mandates. We also need our own offices through adequate funding. We thank this present administration for the support so far.

What specific goals do you want to achieve during your tenure?

I want to succeed beyond what I met on the ground and also see to it that by 2030, there will be zero deaths and zero serious injuries. I aim to reduce road crashes in the country, as part of the mandate of the FRSC.