FRSC takes steps to tackle extortion, reckless enforcement by its personnel

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) vowed the deal with its personnel caught extorting money from motorists and those involved in reckless enforcement of traffic rules. 

Shehu Mohamed, Corps Marshal of FRSC stated this on Tuesday in Lafia, at a sensitisation on discipline, reinforcement and strengthening of Command and Control in its field Command.

The Corps Marshal who was represented at the event by Deputy Corps Marshal Emmanuel Dung, said the Corps had observed a disturbing decline in discipline, professionalism and effective command and control in most of its field officers in recent times.

He explained that these lapses have manifested as misconduct, unethical practices, abuse of authority, extortion, reckless enforcement behaviours and other actions.

"Let me say clearly that such behaviours are unacceptable, they have violated our regulations, betrayed our training, contradict our care values and endanger our credibility and reputation.

"Every time a road user loses confidence in us, our mandate becomes harder to achieve because every act of unprofessional conduct damages the image of thousands of discipline staff.

"Every abuse of authority weakens the trust we built over decades and it's contradict everything our uniform represents," the Corps Marshal added.

Mohammed noted that the Corps was just created to enforce traffic laws, but to save lives and serve the public with integrity.

He further said that their authority flows directly from the public trust and once that trust is compromised, their effectiveness is also compromised.

The Corps Marshal said that he had deployed senior officers to Nasarawa State and other states of the federation to serve as mentors, leaders and standard-bearer to guide other personnel on the core mandates of the Corps. 

"The deployed senior officers are to strengthen discipline, reinforce leadership accountability and restore effective command and control structures that guarantee professionalism at all times," he added.

Mohammed further stressed that extortion, harassment and abuse of authority are not only illegal, but also a direct betrayal of the oath they swore to.

He reminder young officers and marshals to know that that their uniforms is a symbol of honour and must be worn with pride and conduct themselves honourably on the roads and everywhere. 

He therefore, urged the officers to supervise actively, correct promptly, mentor consistently and never tolerate misconduct to maintain the integrity of the Corps.

Earlier, Yahaya Sabo-Adikwu, Sector Commander of FRSC in the state, appreciated the Corps Marshal for the initiative aimed at re-jigging and strengthening the command and control within field commands.

Sabo-Adikwu explained that the command had prioritised discipline of erring personnel and reward of those who had distinguished themselves in service.

He said that they have initiated a reward system of Marshals and an Officers who distinguished themselves with cash gifts and presentation of letters of commendation to recognize their hard work and dedication to service.

"We have set a clear expectation for all staff to portray the Corps’ image positively, emphasizing the importance of appearance and uniformity," he said.

The Sector Commander further said that the state command had put machinery on ground to improve infrastructure and logistics for its personnel for optimal performance with a view of curtailing road crashes on the highways.

He explained that Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State had approved the acquisition of ten patrol vehicles and one tow truck to the command to enhance their operational capabilities and would soon given to them. 

The Sector Commander further noted the government had approved the establishment of four new unit commands in Obi, Doma, Gudi and Mararaba Udegi, to further expand their reach and effectiveness. (NAN).