Rights group faults NASS bill seeking firearms for FRSC
The Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights (CHSR) on Sunday faulted the National Assembly’s bill seeking firearms for Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) personnel.
The National President of the CHSR, Mr Alex Omotehinse, gave this position at a news conference held at the Liberation Centre in Lagos
Omotehinse said that the bill to allow FRSC officials carry firearms had scaled through second reading in the House of Representatives.
According to him, the CHRS’s perspective has become imperative because of the group’s mandate and the overriding quest of civil society stakeholders to defend victims of abuse of human rights and to promote the cause of justice and peaceful co-existence.
Omotehinse said: “We are compelled to address the press on the bill before the national assembly seeking to allow the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) access to the use of firearms on duty.
“Nigeria faces the challenge of abuse of the use of arms and ammunition in the hands of security agencies in addition to the growing proliferation of arms with illegitimate access by non-state actors.
“The worsening threats constituted to national security by the number of agencies using arms is, to say the least, worrisome.
“Rather than seeking to grant access to FRSC officials to bear arms, we expect concerted effort at streamlining the use of arms and ammunition by security agencies towards demilitarising the society.”
He said that already the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) affects security.
“In addition to mopping illegal SALW in the possession of non-state actors, government must restrict the granting of blanket approval to agencies to procure and use arms considering the predilection for abuses by personnel.
“We therefore do not see the justification for granting the FRSC the approval to carry arms.
“We do not see how collective national interest would be advanced by turning the FRSC into an arm of security agencies in Nigeria,” Omotehinse said.
The rights activist called on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass and members national assembly to reconsider the bill.
Omotehinse said: “We consider the proposal as needless and wrongheaded.
“Legalising the use of firearms for the FRSC which is supposed to operate in a civilized environment will amount to further militarizing the polity.”
According to him, what Nigerians need at the moment is not an increase in the number of armed agencies but reorientation of security agencies for civilized operation.
He said that Nigerians were looking up to the national assembly to help and support a genuine quest for good governance that would allow Nigerians to live peacefully with one another.
Omotehinse suggested that the existing security agencies should be empowered and supported with relevant laws and oversight that would make them to function in civilised and responsible manner.
He said that the primary aims and duties of the FRSC revolves around advocacies on road safety, operational activities to curb abuses by motorists and taking care of victims of road accidents.
“We view the proposal to grant the FRSC access to the use of arms as curious, unfounded and dangerous.
“We are concerned that the rights, comfort and safety of road users will further be endangered by the bill being debated if eventually passed into law.
“Allowing FRSC officials carry firearms would lead to further increase in abuses against motorists as well as possible escalation of incidents of extra judicial killings,” he said.
He urged the national assembly to pay urgent attention to the deplorable state of roads across the country in other to make roads motorable and safer.
Also speaking, Mr Remi Shaih of Voice Of The Masses, said it FRSC were allowed to carry arms, other agencies like Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and others will agitate for the same.
