Inappropriate use of sirens and Nigerians’ indifference to emergencies on roads

The use of sirens is intended to serve a critical purpose in society, particularly during emergencies, to ensure a swift response and the safety of those involved.

However, in Nigeria, sirens have increasingly become tools for harassment, intimidation, and, in some cases, the infliction of harm on innocent road users. While sirens, flashers, and beacon lights are legally reserved for a select group of individuals, their misuse by others has become a significant issue in the country.

This violation of the law not only disrupts traffic but also creates an environment of fear and danger, undermining the original intent behind their use. The growing abuse of sirens on Nigerian roads calls for urgent attention to ensure they are used solely for their intended emergency purposes, as the masses now disregard them, even when lives and property are at stake.

In response to this, the House of Representatives had earlier called on the Federal Road Safety Commission and the Nigerian Police Force to clamp down on those who abuse sirens nationwide. The House also directed law enforcement agencies to enforce the law against the indiscriminate use of sirens on Nigerian roads.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Jesse Onuakalusi (Labour Party–Lagos) during plenary.

Onuakalusi, in the motion titled, “Need to Check the Abuse of Sirens on Nigeria’s Roads,” stated, “The House is concerned that the abuse of sirens often disrupts the free flow of traffic, with devastating effects on the economy due to the loss of man-hours in gridlocks. Affected communities also suffer business disruptions and exposure to attacks by hoodlums during prolonged traffic jams, as well as noise pollution caused by the indiscriminate use of sirens.

“The House observes that criminals often take undue advantage of this situation to unleash fear and terror on society, exacerbated by the indiscriminate use of sirens.

“The House also notes that this abuse has negatively impacted appropriate security assessments, making it difficult to distinguish between officials entitled to sirens and imposters,” he said.

The House further mandated the Committees on the Federal Road Safety Commission and Police Affairs to ensure compliance.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that during instances of siren abuse, impunity is on full display, as security escorts blare sirens to intimidate other road users. They use horsewhips, belts, and other items against law-abiding citizens, disrupting both pedestrian and vehicular movement by driving against traffic.

According to the National Road Traffic Regulation (Amended) 2012, Section 154 (Part XIV)(1), it is a crime for members of the general public, other than authorised individuals, to use sirens, flasher lights, and beacon lights.

By law, the use of sirens, flashers, and beacon lights on any public road is legally restricted to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Deputy President of the Senate, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Governors and Deputy Governors of states.

Additionally, military and paramilitary agencies, the police, fire services, and hospital ambulances are allowed to use sirens on public roads for rescue operations, pursuit of criminals or individuals deemed security risks, saving the lives of sick people or accident victims, providing fire services, or during war or periods of unrest.

Section 154 (1) reads in part: “No person other than the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Deputy President of the Senate, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Governors, and Deputy Governors of states shall drive a vehicle on any public road using sirens, flashers, or beacon lights.”

Section 154 (2) further states: “Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-regulation (1) of this regulation commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine of N3,000 or a term of seven months’ imprisonment, or both.”

Sunday PUNCH observed that despite these legal provisions, siren abuse continues unabated. This abuse is also extensively perpetrated by uniformed services, including the police, military, immigration, customs, correctional services, and security details.

However, in a move against this menace and to ensure sanity on the roads, former Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), in 2003, banned the use of sirens in Lagos and strictly enforced the law by not using a siren himself as governor.

His commissioners, top government officials, and bullion vans were also banned from using sirens. At the time, only emergency vehicles for health and fire services were exempted. Fashola’s action fostered a civil atmosphere in Lagos State.

Sadly, the sanity achieved during Fashola’s administration was not sustained after he left office in 2015, demonstrating that with the right leadership and political will, the menace could be curbed.

Fashola, speaking at the National Council on Transportation forum in Lagos, lamented the indiscriminate manner in which public officers use sirens on the roads.

He said, “From the day I became governor in this state until this moment, I haven’t had cause to use a siren, and I don’t intend to. I detest noise, but I think it is even worse that people elect us to manage public transport on their behalf, and we choose to escape from it.

“After riding in a free car with free fuel, it is an abdication of duty. This must apply across the board. At least, at the state level, I can speak. My commissioners have very clear orders; they will lose their jobs if they do.

“Can you imagine one of our state capitals experiencing a single day without blaring car horns? Can we imagine how lovely that day would be? And this is possible. It is because we haven’t done the basics—training drivers appropriately and punishing those who break the law. Can we set for ourselves a day in a state without blasting horns?

Fashola added, “Let us get rid of all these sirens. They aren’t made here. We buy them to enrich another economy. They are manufactured in factories abroad. And then we use loud horns, especially the ones meant for emergencies. Are we in a state of perpetual emergency? If those managing public transport policies can get away with using sirens, the system will never work.

“And we expect to be safe? Those we put in charge of protecting us cannot even detect who is who. So, when someone approaches a checkpoint with a kidnapped victim in their boot, they simply put on a siren and drive away. These are things we must reflect on and make difficult decisions about.”

Unfortunately, Sunday PUNCH gathered that no individual or government has replicated Fashola’s noble initiative in other states.

Today, ministers, service chiefs, heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, commissioners, police chiefs, top government officials, religious leaders, and traditional rulers use sirens to bully, harass, intimidate, and unleash horror on innocent citizens.

Previously, a Lagos-based Information Technology consultant, Wale Oyewole, in a report by The Guardian, accused the Maroko Police Division of ignoring his complaint about the torture he was allegedly subjected to by some security details attached to a former top official of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Oyewole said, “My experience at the Lekki Phase 1 entrance gate in the hands of an FIRS official’s security details was frustrating. A white Hilux with cops abruptly pulled up alongside me. I allowed the Hilux to get in front, and then I moved behind it. Three mobile policemen jumped out of the Hilux and pointed their guns at me.

“One slapped me in the face, the other punched my head. I told them to calm down, and I stepped out of my car, but I was manhandled and pepper-sprayed in the face. Then, they drove off quickly. I temporarily went blind, and my throat became very dry. Some people around me rallied to help and gave me water.

“After I became stable, I went to the Maroko Police Station to report the incident. But I was not allowed to make a statement. They told me to leave, saying there was nothing they could do about it.”

An eyewitness, who identified himself only as Kingsley, said, “The man was beaten up in front of his children because he didn’t give way for the convoy of the FIRS boss at the entrance of Lekki Phase 1. They sprayed his eyes with pepper spray in the presence of his children and beat him up while their boss watched from the vehicle behind.”

Why motorists ignore sirens

Due to these widespread abuses, the sound of sirens has become so common on Nigerian roads that motorists no longer respect them or make way for vehicles blasting sirens, even during genuine life-threatening emergencies.

Unfortunately, motorists now struggle for space with ambulances carrying sick people, including those in critical condition requiring urgent medical attention. As a result, some ambulance drivers now resort to using microphones to plead with motorists. It is now common to hear them say, “Give way, give way, don’t let me die, don’t let me die!”

Only at this point do many motorists believe there is a genuine reason for the siren use. There have even been cases of ambulances blaring sirens while carrying no patients.

This is despite the fact that obstructing an authorised emergency vehicle is a crime under the National Road Traffic Regulation (Amended) 2012, Section 155 (Part XIV), titled “Obstruction of vehicles using sirens, flashers, and beacon lights.”

Section 155 (1) states: “A driver or person having control of a vehicle who knowingly and without reasonable excuse obstructs a vehicle authorised by this regulation to use sirens, flashers, or beacon lights commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine of N2,000 or six months’ imprisonment, or both.”

However, a security expert and concerned Nigerian has decried the abuse of sirens on the nation’s highways and called for measures to check the trend.

“The blaring of sirens often scares other road users, causing accidents as they struggle to give way,” said Mr Innocent Ochonu, a retired police officer.