NO fewer than 377 motorcycle (okada) and tricycle (keke) accidents were recorded between January and December 2022 by the Federal Safety Corps (FRSC) in Gombe State.
The FRSC Sector Commander Felix Theman disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Akko Local Government Area of the state.
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According to him, the recorded 377 road crashes involved underage riding of motorcycles and tricycles, particularly in the Gombe metropolis.
Theman reiterated that the underage riding of motorbikes is illegal, noting that the organisation has taken measures to tackle the problem.
“We have instances where very young boys that are not up to the legal age of 18, parents are allowing them to ride recklessly on the road causing unnecessary crashes, particularly within the township.”
He noted that the FRSC has increased the response to road traffic offences by enforcing mobile courts in the state.
“We increased our response to road traffic offences by enforcing mobile courts sitting in collaboration with the state judiciary.
“Through the sitting, we made a high number of arrests particularly during Operation Zero between December 2022 and January 2023 to serve as a deterrent,” he said.
According to Theman, the FRSC embarked on sensitisation and advocacy on the danger of having children riding motorcycles and tricycles in the state.
“For underage, we have embarked on sensitisation targeting parents and those groups of people to tell them the danger of having children riding motorcycles and tricycles.”
He added that arrests were being made to tackle the spate of underage motorbike riding in the state.
The FRSC sector commander called on parents and guardians to monitor their wards against committing road traffic offences which could lead to crashes.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M