By Ibironke Ariyo
The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Justice Babatunde Adejumo, has called for strict regulation, training and retraining of government drivers across the country.
Babatunde made the call in his goodwill message at the National Summit of the Special Marshals of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in Abuja.
He said that many drivers often behave as if they own the roads, adding that traffic management remained a global priority.
He emphasised that millions of lives were lost yearly due to road mismanagement, disobedience and neglect, noting that this was the concern that motivated the founding fathers of the FRSC.
“Road safety is everybody’s safety. As we speak, some people are dying as a result of road mismanagement, disobedience or neglect.
“The Corps Marshal needs to emphasise continuous training and retraining of drivers, particularly those employed by government ministries, departments and agencies, including the judiciary.
“Government drivers must be reminded that they are not above the law,” he maintained.
Adejumo expressed worry that many official vehicles on Nigerian roads either have no plate numbers or concealed them.
This, he said, is making it difficult to identify offenders and even creating opportunities for criminals to exploit.
“This is a serious concern because if criminals behave in such a manner, members of the public may not be able to distinguish who is genuine and who is not,” he said.
The NJI administrator also noted that some government drivers either do not possess valid driver’s licences or operate with expired ones, while some licences were fraudulently procured.
“These are areas you have to emphasise so that we can reduce the burden of lives lost on our roads,” he urged FRSC.
On the role of NJI, Babatunde said that the institute, as an organ established to organise training, lectures, seminars and conferences for judicial officers, would continue to design programmes that would empower judges.
This, he said, would help them to handle road traffic-related cases, including drug use and offences at the grassroots level.
He, however, reaffirmed NJI’s partnership with FRSC, citing the provision of its facilities for the summit as part of that collaboration.
Babatunde also appealed for support in training NJI drivers to improve their compliance with road safety regulations and minimise accidents during official functions.
He expressed appreciation to the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, and other dignitaries for their participation in the summit, noting that road safety required collective commitment. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Yakubu Uba
