By: Abba Onyekachukwu, Abuja.

A coalition of Abuja-based Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the Coalition of Road Safety NGOs (CORSAN), has frowned at the recent Appeal Court ruling, which upheld the ban on the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), otherwise known as the Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIOs) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from stopping, impounding, or fining motorists.

The coalition, in a statement after an emergency meeting held by its executives on Tuesday, blamed the infractions on the incompetence of the officers who should have nipped the problem in the bud, and for allowing the matter to have gone to the Court in the first instance.

The group condemned the attitude of some road traffic officers/VIOs whose conduct may have caused these infractions that may have led to the court verdict, stressing that without professionalism among the officers, the Directorate will continue to be challenged with legal actions in courts.

It noted that the Appeal Court decision affirms that the VIO’s actions were unlawful, oppressive, and violated citizens’ rights to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and property ownership.

In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Coalition, Amb. Fidelis Nnadi, signed by the Coalition chairman, Prince Julius Ogu, the group called on the judiciary not to sacrifice the safety of road users on the altar of human rights.

The coalition noted that the ban on road traffic officers is an open invitation to chaos on the state and the FCT roads, which it said would ultimately expose road users to a high risk of road crashes, thereby denying them their own human rights.

“The Court should not be protecting the rights of one road user as against the rights of millions of other road users.” This is ridiculous and not acceptable.

“Road Safety is everybody’s business and safety of lives is the priority government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended,” Nnadi said.

Commenting further, Nnadi pointed out that the ruling underscores the need for effective human rights-friendly road transport/traffic regulations at the Federal and State levels to prevent any loophole that may give rise to litigation, and also to operate within legal boundaries that respect citizens’ rights.

In his contribution on the incident, the Chairman of the Coalition, Prince Julius Ogu, warned that the Judiciary may be causing more damage to the safety of road users when it is sacrificing the lives of many road users on the altar of the human rights of one individual.

“Road users in the Federal Capital Territory deserve to be protected by the presence of traffic enforcement officers, considering that the absence of Road Traffic Officers/VIOs is an invitation to chaos on FCT roads, as it is already happening currently that they have been banned.

This situation is currently exposing innocent road users and commuters as potential victims for the sake of this avoidable and preventable court verdict,” Prince Ogu said.

The coalition, therefore, called on the minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to intervene by
urgently constituting a committee to look into the operational problems of the Directorate with a view to reforming the operational modalities of the Directorate.

The group said such modalities should be backed by a legal framework that would ensure constitutional and legislative backing for the operations of the Directorate.

“The coalition further called on the Wike to prioritise road traffic safety in FCT by ensuring that the confidence and integrity of the Directorate is restored.

Further to that, this reform will ensure justice for motorists and other classes of road users in FCT, including the introduction of a technology-driven process in the Directorate. Though the ruling may be a victory for those who care less about safety on our roads, it is never an acceptable course of action,” Nnadi concluded.