THE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has disclosed that 1,349 people were killed in road accidents between January 1 and April 12, 2023.
The Commission also said that 2,463 crashes occurred during the period.
According to the FRSC, the crash involved 3,965 vehicles conveying 16,102 people. Out of that number, 1,349 people were killed, while 7,744 got injured.
The spokesperson of the FRSC, Bisi Kazeem, disclosed this to The ICIR in a chat.
On what the Commission is doing to minimise road accidents in Nigeria, Kazeem said the FRSC had deployed various strategies to combat crashes.
He listed the introduction of motorised patrol along the critical corridors as part of the strategies.
“These sets of Patrol operatives play a key role in speed control to halt speed-related crashes on the highways.
“Our operational activities have been given an adequate boost through the injection of new vehicles for enhanced visibility on the highways and to enforce compliance by all road users.
“The public enlightenment aspect is also being enhanced. Of course, you are aware of the establishment of the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM, an FRSC-owned station brought to life to boost existing platforms for the education, enlightenment, sensitisation and providing real time traffic update to mass population of road users,” he stated.
Kazeem said that presently, the Commission is undergoing a massive expansion of the Command base to meet expectations.
Photo Credit: The Eagle Online
According to him, this expansion would usher in more highway patrol teams, more roadside clinics for prompt rescue services, and adequate deployment of tow trucks for speedy removal of obstructions.
“Our staff have also been subjected to continuous capacity building to enhance professionalism, competence, and ease of doing business in the work place,” he added.
He said the Commission had strengthened 122 as its toll-free number to accommodate the volume of calls that come in daily.
He also said the FRSC had beefed up response time for quick intervention.
Road traffic fatalities and injuries have emerged as a challenge in the country. Nigeria has been addressing the problem over time.
Kazeem said the absence of an effective road safety policy and strategy for the country and problems among relevant agencies compounded the road crash pandemic in Nigeria over the years.
Some major road crashes in 2023
In January 2023, in the Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto, a tragic motor accident claimed the lives of 18 people and injured 40 more.
The accident involved a truck carrying passengers and a herd of cattle.
On Sunday, January 28, not less than 11 persons were burnt to death in an auto crash involving a commercial passenger bus and a truck in Ondo State.
According to the FRSC, the incident happened on Soka Bridge along the Benin-Ore expressway in the Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.
The FRSC Commander, Ore Unit, Sikiru Alonge, blamed the accident on “one-way driving”.
Alonge said the truck had a head-on collision with a passenger bus.
On March 26, an accident occurred in Kebbi’s Liba neighbourhood, near Gonan Rogo in Kebbi, and on March 27, another tragic collision happened in the state’s Bunza region.
The FRSC Kebbi State Command said 35 lives were lost in the two separate road accidents in the state.
The state Sector Commander, Yusuf Haruna Aliyu, said 40 people were rescued in the accidents, while several passengers also suffered deadly injuries.
In another development, the FRSC said 24 persons were killed, while 354 others sustained injuries in road crashes in Gombe State between January and March 2023.
The Gombe FRSC Sector Commander, Felix Theman, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafiyawo, Akko Local Government Area of the state, on Friday, April 14.
At least 15 people were burnt to death in an auto-crash along the Port Harcourt-Enugu highway in Enugu state on Saturday, April 8.
Kazeem, confirming the incident in a statement on Sunday, April 9, said the victims were burnt beyond recognition in the accident, which occurred at about 8.20 p.m.
The vehicles involved in the crash were a Toyota 18-seater bus and a Mercedes truck.
Also, seven passengers were burnt to death on Thursday, April 13, when a commercial bus caught fire on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
FRSC officials said seven of the 27 passengers were burned beyond recognition.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) spokesperson in Ogun, Florence Okpe, confirmed the incident to reporters in Abeokuta.
Compensation for road accident victims
The FRSC said it was collaborating with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to ensure compensation for road crash victims and prosecution of drivers and their employers whose activities on the road lead to road users’ injury.
In a statement released on Tuesday, April 4, Kazeem described the partnership as a concerted effort to ensure that victims of road crashes are duly compensated through established legal processes.
He said the organisations finalised the agreement to collaborate during a courtesy visit of the Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, to the president of the NBA, Yakubu Maikyau.
Prosecution of drivers involved in accidents
In another development, the FRSC also said it had started preparations to prosecute drivers involved in accidents that resulted in the loss of lives.
In line with the plan, the FRSC will prosecute drivers involved in the Liba and Bunza fatal crashes in Kebbi State earlier in the year.
Biu disclosed in a statement on Tuesday, March 28, that the prosecution would protect passengers’ rights and deter other traffic violators.
Security analyst proffers solution
In an attempt to proffer solutions to the constant loss of lives on our roads, a security analyst with the SBM Intelligence, a security outfit, Emeka Okoro, said although Nigeria’s road traffic fatality rate has reduced dramatically in recent years, it is still relatively high when compared to the reported WHO estimates.
Okoro said driving on Nigeria’s road network can be risky and arduous as large parts have broken down and others ridden with potholes due to neglect.
“Indeed, apart from many of the highways littered with craters, driving at right is comparable to walking through a dark alley because of the lack of street lights.
“The absence of proper road safety and poor management of roads remain the basis of road accidents which regularly occur at some flashpoints, such as sharp bends, potholes, and at bad sections of the highways.
“At such points, overspeeding drivers usually find it difficult to control their vehicles, resulting in fatal traffic accidents, especially at night. This, for me, is the fundamental reason for the high rate of deaths reported by the FRSC,” he said.
Okoro said that in response to the United Nations’ decade of action for road safety, the FRSC launched a “safe road in Nigeria” to reduce road crash deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030.
He said this campaign is based more on changing driving behaviour than advocating for good road infrastructure.
He added that the FRSC has stepped up the campaign in Nigeria to ensure that these objectives are met by strengthening legislation and enforcement in the following areas: drunk driving, speeding, seat belt use, education/training and enforcement.
He said that since road safety is primarily the responsibility of governments, road accidents can be reduced by providing basic conditions and services.
He added that stakeholders must seek collaboration among the Public and private sectors, academia, professional organisations, non-governmental organisations and the media to move towards a country free from road traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance