The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said that Sharia law will not be introduced in the enforcement of traffic regulations, according to a statement on Saturday by the Corps spokesperson, Assistant Corps Marshal Bisi Kazeem.
On Thursday, FRSC’s sector commander in Bauchi, Yusuf Abdullahi called for the application of Sharia law to prosecute traffic offenders to stem road crashes in the country.
However, the Corps explained that it is neither a religious nor sectional organisation, but a Federal Government agency established with a mandate that is guided by the provisions of an establishment Act.
According to the statement, the Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu has recalled, with immediate effect, Abdullahi to the national headquarters Abuja, for necessary administrative action for breaching the FRSC regulations and the Standard Operating Procedures
Kazeem said: “It is key to inform the general public that the FRSC is a government agency with statutory responsibilities for road safety administration in Nigeria and sensitive to the country’s multi-religious as well as heterogeneous ethnic composition.
“The Corps was founded through Decree No. 45, as amended by Decree 35 of 1992 referred to in the statute books as the FRSC Act cap 141 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. The Act was passed by the National Assembly as FRSC (establishment) Act 2007.
“By this very fact, it is important to posit that the Corps is neither a religious nor sectional organisation, but a Federal Government Agency established with a mandate that is guided by the provisions of an establishment Act; and not a Sharia, Mosaic, customary, canon or any other law whatsoever that contradicts the provisions of its establishment Act, or the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Our lead agency role is shielded in our strict compliance with established regulations duly passed by the National Assembly. As such, the public is humbly called to disregard the entire content of the opinion as published because it is outrightly baseless, unfounded and does not apply to our operations and service to the Nigerian people”.
