Bauchi State Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), Yusuf Abdullahi has explained that he was erroneously misrepresented about the call for Sharia law to fight the high rate of fatal crashes on Nigerian roads.
Speaking to Journalists in Bauchi over the weekend, while reacting to the story attributed to him, he said that the fact of the story as published was a misrepresentation of what actually happened, leading to the comment he made.
According to him, “This was an advocacy made recently by a first-class traditional ruler in Bauchi state, the Emir of Ningi, Yunusa Dan Yaya, when he lost his daughter in a fatal road traffic crash that claimed 13 lives along the ever-busy Bauchi – Ningi road a couple of months ago. The crash involved a Government 18 seater bus, a Toyota Hummer bus.”
He explained further that “Emir made the observation at the scene of the fatal crash when the Command’s investigation team went to the screen to ascertain the cause of the RTC.”
“The idea of the traditional ruler about the introduction of Sharia law against Drivers in the case of RTC is to check some excesses of the drivers while driving, not minding the innocent lives in the vehicle. It is not my position in any way,” he said.
Yusuf Abdullahi added that “last week, a Reporter approached him and reiterated the idea as suggested by the Emir, and I advanced the importance of RTC reduction in all countries as well as fatality reduction using every means possible within the laws regulating road traffic in the country.”
He said, “How can I agitate for the introduction of Sharia law into FRSC operations when there are relevant laws that established the Corps and regulate its functions and duties on and off the roads.”
Yusuf Abdullahi, while commending the cordial relationship between the Sector Command and working Journalists of the state, appealed for extra care in reporting sensitive issues of public interest.