A proposed bill authorising Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officers to carry firearms passed its second reading in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral legislature, on Thursday.

This development has since generated varying forms of protest with many Nigerians taking to social media platforms to vent their disapproval. FIJ noticed some citizens had begun to call the legislature to rescind the move.

Established in 1988, the FRSC is a paramilitary organisation saddled with the duty of enforcing road safety to eradicate road traffic crashes and create a safe monitoring environment in Nigeria.

“We don’t even trust the police who are mandated to carry firearms. Why should we trust officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) who are just there to enforce road safety laws with firearms? What is safe about enforcing road safety laws with a weapon?” Anu, an Ibadan resident who only wanted to share his first name, said.

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FIJ had asked Anu on Wednesday for his opinions on the bill that would authorise FRSC officers to carry firearms if it were passed into law.

Anu told FIJ that he had encountered unpleasant experiences with officials of the FRSC in Lagos and Oyo states. He said the officers, instead of upholding professionalism and eschewing vices, resorted to violence, threats and extortion on several occasions.

“They extort drivers and have done it before. Their new tactic is to tell you that they will burst your tyre. They tend to get very violent and escalate situations rather than try to explain what is going on to whoever might be committing a traffic offence,” said Anu.

“They take advantage of certain things like when a sign is not in place or when the road is not properly painted or demarcated. They would just crowd like vultures around that area. Rather than uphold the law, they just tend to stand there lying in wait to prey on drivers.”

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He believes that if the bill is passed into law, the FRSC officials will become more violent than they already are and abuse the firearms designated to them. Anu added that this would be disastrous because they don’t know how to implement traffic laws without resorting to threats and violence.

“I don’t trust them. They are violent even without firearms and I think they will become more violent with it. Why should we trust people who are just there to enforce road safety laws with weapons? You want to promote road safety and you want to bring a gun into the mix?” Anu added.

Anu was not the only one who shared these thoughts. Deji Osikoya, an actor, also shares this sentiment.

For Osikoya, his rationale for kicking against the bill authorising the FRSC to bear firearms stems from his fear of intimidation. He told FIJ that he has had to suffer intimidation from the police, who harass him at checkpoints.

“I believe they should not be authorised to carry firearms because it opens the door to increased intimidation by their officials on the roads. As a young person, I already suffer greatly from dealing with many members of the police force who willfully misuse their power to harass my peers and me at checkpoints. We constantly complain about police brutality and this will undoubtedly create an added headache,” Osikoya told FIJ.

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‘THEY NEED TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD’

Anu believes the FRSC needs an overhaul, and its officers need to be trained properly to enforce road safety laws without utilising violence and threats.

“There are other ways to get people to comply with road safety rules. For instance, making sure that people who run away from road safety officials have their number plates recorded and a query sent to their address, instead of running after offenders,” said Anu.

“They need to go back to the drawing board. There is a huge gap in training. If the institution was working, they would make sure that offenders would pay the proper fines. But right now, it just seems like a money-making scheme for them,” Anu added.

Before this bill was sponsored and debated on the floor of the House of Representatives, Dauda Biu, the former Corps Marshal of the FRSC, sought the Federal Government’s permission to authorise officials of the FRSC to carry firearms in 2023.

Biu cited the insecurity ravaging the country as a reason for his request.

“It is left to the political leaders to arm the FRSC, but what we do know is that the issue of the FRSC bearing arms has been on our status since 1992,” said Biu.

“What we are still waiting for is for us to be given the go-ahead to start using arms. Right now, looking at the level of insecurity in the country, it is not out of place for the FRSC to start using arms to enable us to protect ourselves when the need arises.”

Bolanle Olukanni, a TV host and producer, has called on Nigerians to call their representatives if they want to stop the bill.

Many responses to Olukanni’s post on X have agreed with her.

FIJ saw some Nigerians sharing email formats to send to their legislators while others showed emails they already sent.