Motorists in Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states have been warned to strictly obey traffic rules any time they are on the road in order to avoid being arrested and prosecuted by the Zone 4 of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
The new Zonal Commanding Officer {ZCO}, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, gave the warning while commenting on the recent deployment of mobile courts in the area {from June 26 to July21] during which 359 motorists were convicted in Plateau and Nasarawa States, for various traffic violations.
Olagunju who is an Assistant Corps Marshal {ACM}, said that henceforth the FRSC would prosecute erring motorists in the area in order to achieve the mandate of enhancing safety and reducing the rate of road crashes.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Acting Zonal Public Education Officer, Terry Hoomlong, a Deputy Route Commander, in Jos. He disclosed that a total of 408 traffic offenders were arrested by the FRSC operatives and arraigned before eight magistrate courts in the two states.
The statement also showed that 50 out of the 408 arraigned were discharged and acquitted, while the convicts were given between two to six months jail terms, but were, however, given options of fines, ranging between two to 10 thousand naira.
In RS4.1 Plateau, a total of 117 traffic offenders were convicted with 121 offences by the presiding magistrate, Godswill Longs, while in RS4.3 Nasarawa, a total of 242 traffic offenders were convicted by magistrates Abimbola Buzi, Joy Farouk, Victoria Isiaku, Abundaga Habila and Gwahimba Vincent.
The most prevalent offences were overloading, speed limit violation, tyre violation, and driving and vehicle licence violations. Others include seat belt, windscreen and motorcycle helmet violations.
ACM Olagunju, admonished motorists to be careful and maintain their vehicles and imbibe good driving culture at all times, especially now that it is raining heavily in the area. He further stated that they should ensure that their tyres and wipers are in good condition while they avoid overloading their vehicles.
The RS4 ZCO enjoined motorists to always fasten their seat belts, even as he urged passengers to always caution their drivers whenever they attempt to break traffic rules and regulations.
Addressing the staff on his assumption of duty, the ZCO warned them to shun extortion as he has in place monitoring mechanism to fish out the corrupt ones and get them punished in line with the extant rules.
Olagunju further called on members of staff to be dedicated to their duties, be disciplined, shun rumour-mongering and be civil to the members of the public while discharging their duties. He admonished them to abide by the COVID 19 Protocols such as regular washing of hands with running water and soap and the use of sanitizers, use of facemasks and social distancing.
He equally pointed out that hard-working staff and commands would be rewarded while those violating the operational guidelines and standard operating procedures would be sanctioned accordingly.
He also enjoined all the Commanding Officers in the Zone to be creative in evolving strategies and initiatives to reduce the rate of road traffic crashes and fatalities in the zone .