The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has cautioned FRSC personnel deployed to enforce the presidential directive on lockdown and other restrictions not to be harsh on offenders.
The Corps Marshal said they should enforce the directives with tolerance, civility, courtesy, empathy and resist anything that could lead to the torture or harassment of lockdown violators apprehended during their patrols.
According to Bisi Kazeem, the corps public education officer, the Corps Marshal, while cautioning the officers, urged them to be professional at this critical time, bearing in mind that torturing violators of established laws, even in the present state of emergency, is not part of the professional ethics of the corps.
Therefore, all personnel detailed on the assignment must be tolerant, polite and humane while relating with the public because the corps respects the fundamental human rights of every citizen, Oyeyemi warned.
He, however, commended the personnel of the corps for their professional conduct so far, noting that, since the beginning of the special operations, the FRSC has not received any complaint of torture against its personnel.
In his words, “So far, so good. I think we are highly impressed with the conduct of our men on the road, and we are optimistic that, going forward, they shall continue to sustain the present momentum as they sacrifice a lot for the service of their fatherland.
“However, it is instructive to state that we opted to warn them against torture and incivility because it is completely against our operational ethics and any Staff seen exhibiting such behaviour will be tried in accordance with the provisions of relevant provisions in the maintenance of discipline of the corps.”
While expressing satisfaction with the level of compliance nationwide, the Corps Marshal called on the public to report any torture by FRSC personnel to the corps through the toll-free emergency numbers 122 or the Public Education Officer through the National Traffic Radio live lines 08052998090, 09067000015, and SMS on 08052998012.