October 14, 2024
By Abiodun Adeleke
The Federal Road Safety Commission is an operative agency in Nigeria, composed to reduce the incidents of traffic through enforcement, education, and emergency services.
With the complexity of the operational environment, discussions have sprung up regarding FRSC officers bearing arms. The current developments on the matter are legislative.
Such a bill is already in the House seeking to amend the FRSC Act of 2007 to permit officers to bear arms. It is with a view to establishing a Road Safety Special Armed Squad, which should give the FRSC more teeth in its efforts at regulating traffic and thus making the roads safe.
Already, the bill has sailed through the second reading, showing that the legislature is willing to witness this initiative into an act.
Objectives of the Proposed Bill
Empowerment: Permit officers to have weapons for self-defense and efficiency during operations.
Traffic Management: Regulating the use of public roads and, in effect clogging up traffic flow.
Public Education: Compulsory education on the principles of traffic safety
The Challenges that the FRSC Faces
Despite the importance of it all, FRSC still faces a number of problems that complicate the work of the commission, including:
Legal and Operational Constraints: Legal impediments have been felt in the very important functions of the agency in driver’s license issuance and traffic enforcement.
Financial Shortcoming: Inadequate funding impairs proper functionality, including dependence on government budgets that grossly fall short of actual needs.
Technological Shortcomings: Modern technologies in traffic enforcement, including automated systems, have been addressed as highly necessary in the bid to enhance the management of road safety.
The methods of enforcement at present, especially the physical checkpoint, are dangerous to officers and motorists. There have been reported concerns about possible high-speed chases by FRSC personnel, which cause accidents.
The Case for Armed Enforcement
This demand for armed enforcement arises out of the fact that security in Nigeria is increasingly in jeopardy.
The FRSC has insisted that it should license its personnel to carry arms, quoting it as a necessity that relates to personal safety; some operatives execute their duties in hazardous environments.
This need is emphasized by the sad reality of the FRSC officers being threatened or assaulted both by motorists and other users of the road.
Reasons Compelling Armed Enforcement
Self-Defence: The officers shall be protected in hostile situations.
Increased Authority: The offenders may not be as aggressive because the police shall be carrying arms.
Efficiency: Armed police are more capable of dealing with high-risk cases on the roads.
This is indicative of the larger debate associated with arming FRSC personnel throughout the nation, with broader issues on the road safety enforcement platform. Certainly, while there are evident needs that would call for increased operational capacity and safety for officers, these need to be weighed against public safety concerns; the challenge is complex.
This will be important to monitor as new legislation takes hold in regard to its impacts on both road safety outcomes and operational dynamics for the FRSC.
Arguments Against Arming FRSC Officers
The proposal to arm officers of the FRSC has been said to bring a lot of complaints among stakeholders. Some of the key arguments against the move include:
Risk of Increased Violence
Arming the FRSC officers would increase the rate of violence on the highways. The opponents also argue that carrying guns would escalate tensions in traffic stops that might result in altercations that could turn violent. In taping regular traffic patrol with guns, critics have successfully demonstrated that not only does it promote violence, but it also promotes the probability of excessive use of force and tragic results befalling the officers and the civilians.
The militarization of civil society
Armed police for FRSC officials add to, or reinforce, the problems of militarization of the whole society-a country like Nigeria. Additional police, critics argue, raise the number of armed personnel on the streets; such practice is likely to up the ante on fear and anxiety in the public. Uniformed police officers with weapons could be sure to ensure an aggressive policing culture whereby the basics of everyday policing are far more alienating than cooperative.
Abuse and Corruption
Giving FRSC officials guns could trigger cases of abuse of authority. There is a looming fear that some crooked officers might misuse their firearms, especially in highly politicized settings, like elections. It may result in situations where guns would be turned against citizens or even be used for personal benefits at the expense of the agency’s confidence among the people.
Lack of Training and Preparedness
There needs to be extensive training in the use of firearms and in methods of incident resolution that minimize the necessity to resort to firearms if armed enforcement is to work. Critics, however, say that a majority of the serving officers in FRSC might not be well-equipped to handle the responsibility of carrying firearms and could result in accidental firings or inappropriate usage when the situation gets heated. This can place the officers and members of the general public in greater jeopardy.
There Are Alternatives
The critics go further to argue that instead of arming the personnel, the staff should have more of a technological emphasis.
They suggested the use of digital systems to carry on with the process of recording the traffic violations and use of non-lethal means to consider the traffic offenders.
The use of automated systems in monitoring speed and imposition of fines could prevent the contacts that may result in confrontation.
Public Perception and Community Trust
In the process, this may be what will finally betray community confidence in the force with an armed FRSC. Many citizens may be intimidated by armed marshals, which could eventually ensure that they refuse to cooperate during the enforcement activities.
This would translate into poor law enforcement, diminishing the ability of the FRSC to perform its key mandates of education and prevention.
While arming FRSC officers is about entrenching safety and effectiveness, it is also important to consider a number of other critical issues, namely: propensity for violence, militarization, the prospect of abuse of such powers, shortfall in training, available options, among others. It could actually turn out that such a policy-balancing technology advancement and community engagement-will be more effective in improving road safety throughout Nigeria without having to introduce guns into daily traffic enforcement.
Note: views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of The Yoruba Times
