The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FRSC

  • ‘Safety on the road is everybody’s business’

    ‘Safety on the road is everybody’s business’

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Coleman Wire and Cable Company, Mr. George Onafowokan, has called on corporate organisations and individuals to support the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to enhance safety of lives and property on the roads.

    Onafowokan made the plea at the official inauguration of the FRSC Sagamu Unit’s light project.

    He said: “Safety on the road is everyone’s business and it should not be left to one agency.”

    He urged corporate organisations, religious leaders, individuals and leaders of the various transport unions to sponsor workshops, train and sensitise drivers, , especially heavy duty drivers and other road users on road safety tips.

    Onofowokan who noted that 75 per cent of Nigerian drivers lacked adequate knowledge of safe driving and safety tips, said this ignorance contributes immensely to road crashes in the country.

    He appealed to the drivers to drive carefully and shun all form of indiscipline as the Christmas rushing draw close.

    The Sagamu Unit Commander, Mr Benedict Akunne, in his speech thanked Flakky Group of Companies and Coleman Cable and Wire Company, all in Ogun State, for spearheading the electrification of the unit’s office.

    He expressed joy that the command will soon begin to enjoy electricity, which it has lacked for several years.

    Akunne said: “This is the first time in the history of this command that we would operate with electricity since 2007.

  • Two FRSC marshals killed in Kogi prison attack

    Two FRSC marshals killed in Kogi prison attack

    Two marshals of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kogi State Command, were killed by the gunmen, who attacked the Minimum Security Prison in Koton-Karfe on Sunday, it was learnt yesterday.

    FRSC Sector Commander Godwin Omiko told reporters in Lokoja that the slain marshals, Olaoluwa Adebayo and Adesina Iyanda, and four others were on night duty at the FRSC office in Koton-Karfe when the gunmen struck.

    He said on hearing gunshots, the marshals ran into hiding, but the gunmen found Adebayo and Iyanda at their hideout in the bush and took them away.

    Omiko said security agents searched the bush for the victims early Monday morning but there was no trace of them.

    He said their bodies were discovered in a shallow grave at the bush on Tuesday evening by a woman who went in search of firewood.

    When the bodies were retrieved and examined, Omiko said they discovered that the victims were shot in the head at close range.

    He said: “They removed their uniforms before shooting them. They used their lanyard and shoe laces to tie their hands and legs. There were bruises all over their bodies, which means they were dragged over a distance before they were killed.”

    Omiko said the gunmen went away with the marshals’ uniforms, service belts and shoes, identity cards, official and personal mobile phones and ATM cards.

    The bodies of the victims, who both hail from Kwara State, have been deposited at the morgue of Ankuri Hospital in Lokoja.

  • Court nullifies FRSC’s powers to impose fines on erring motorists

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified the powers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to impose fines on erring motorists.

    Delivering verdict on a suit filed by a lawyer, Mr. Tope Alabi, Justice James Tsoho held that FRSC cannot turn itself into a court of law by punishing those that commit traffic offences.

    A copy of the judgment, delivered on September 26, was obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday.

    The plaintiff had prayed the court to declare that only a court of competent jurisdiction can pronounce a person guilty under Section 10 (4) and 28 (2) of the FRSC (Establishment Act) 2007 and Regulation 143 of the Nigerian Roads Traffic Regulation, 2011.

    The judge declared the sections null and void for being inconsistent with Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution.

    He also awarded N1million damages to the plaintiff because FRSC confiscated his vehicle and driver’s license.

    “It is my conviction that the plaintiff is entitled to remedy on this account,” he said.

    Justice Tsoho said while FRSC is statutorily empowered to arrest and fine traffic offenders, a closer look at the definition of the word “fine” means ‘a pecuniary criminal punishment or civil penalty payable to the public treasury.”

    He held: “In the instance case, however, the involvement of the element of arrest takes the imposition of fine by the second defendant (FRSC) to the realm of criminal punishment.

    “It is noteworthy that a fine, when viewed from that perspective, is a component of sentence.

    “From these definitions, it is obvious that the act of sentencing is a judicial action or exercise. Imposition of fine connotes conviction for an alleged offence. This presupposes a trial and conviction of the person fined, especially having regard to the definition of sentencing.

    “It is, thus, very clear that the FRSC, not being a court of law, cannot impose fine, especially that it has no powers to conduct trial.

    “Hence, the exercise of the statutory powers given to the second defendant under the Act as pertain to imposition of fine is clearly a usurpation of judicial powers exclusively vested in the courts,” the judge held.

     

  • FRSC prosecutes traffic offenders

    A total of 23 traffic offenders were arraigned and prosecuted at Ota Magistrates Court 2, Ogun State for contravening various traffic rules and regulations last month. They were tried at the Joint Mobile Court exercise in Ota, Idiroko and Ifo Unit Commands.

    The 22 offenders were convicted with options of fine commensurate with the gravity of their offenses. However, one was cautioned and discharged by the presiding Magistrate A. O. Abimbola.

    The prosecutor, Mr Uzoma Enwereuzo, told the court that the offenders were apprehended for breaking traffic rules and regulations ranging from seat belt violation (SBV), non-possession of driver’s licenses, possessing expired tyres or lack of spare tyres, among other offence.

    While addressing the offenders in his office before they were taken to court, the Ota Unit Commander, Mr Sunday Omafu, said the primary objective of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is to ensure full enforcement of traffic rules and regulations and to ensure safety on our roads.

    He added that all road users are advised to co-operate with the commission by strictly adhering to its rules and regulations to end the incessant crashes that always occur during and after the ember months.

    He urged motorists to imbibe defensive driving culture, avoid dangerous or wrong overtaking, underage driving and drinking and driving.

    In a related development, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), has urged the heavy duty trucks and other articulated vehicles within Ogun State to shun hazardous parking and other illegal operations capable of hindering free-flow of traffic within the state.

    The Ota Zone II Commander, Mr Kunle Ajibade, who made the plea at Ojuore, Ado-Odo/Ota, a suburb of Ogun State while on traffic control exercise with his team members, said “illegal parking and trading on highways are some of the causes of traffic jam.

    He said Ado-Odo/Ota is an industrial area which attracts high movements of vehicles and individuals.

    He, therefore, appealed to drivers of heavy duty trucks to shun the attitude of dangerous parking, driving against traffic, even as he warned traders under the Sango under bridge, Ojuore and Dalemo to leave the area.

     

  • Number plate: Court upholds constitutionality of regulation 2012

    Number plate: Court upholds constitutionality of regulation 2012

    Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal held yesterday that Regulation 2012 of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) under which the new plate number directive was issued was constitutional.

    The verdict of the appellate court has said aside the trial court’s decision that the said regulation was illegal and unconstitutional.

    Following the FRSC directive that vehicles would be impounded from October 1, last year should their owners fail to acquire the new number plates, a lawyer, Emmanuel Ofoegbu sued the commission before Justice John Tsoho of a Federal High Court.

    ?In a verdict delivered on March 26, the trial court held that the FRSC’s introduction of mandatory new number  plate was illegal and the threat to impound vehicles unconstitutional.

    Tsoho had held that although the Commission had statutory powers and responsibilities, it was overreaching itself by its proposed action, since there was no penal law under which same could be executed.

    The judge had held that the FRSC could not force upon Nigerians, a hastily conceived policy, without an enabling legal framework, adding that nothing had invalidated the old number plates.

    Dissatisfied with the decision, the FRSC had approached the appellate court, seeking an order, upturning Tsoho’s verdict raising four issues for determination

    FRSC urged the appellate court to decide whether the trial court was right to hold that the National Road Traffic Regulation (NRTR) 2012 was a nastily conceived policy without legal framework, just as it queried the locus standi of the respondent to initiate the suit.

    But in its judgement delivered by Justice Shagbor Ikeigh, the Appeal Court held that the respondent have rights to institute the suit being an affected party.

    Although the court ruled that Regulation 2012 was unconstitutional and FRSC has powers to give directives, it however decided three of the four issues raised in favour of the respondent.

    It held that by the provisions of Section 5 of the FRSC Act 2007, the National Assembly had delegated the authority to the Commission to so act.

    On the issue of validity of the regulations 2012, the court held “The effect of regulations 230 (2) of the regulation 2012, preserves the NRTR 2004.

    “Its effect is that all acts done under the 2004 regulation, would remain valid until the time frame expires.

    “The respondent having a valid plate number before the commencement of the litigation, and with the coming into force of the regulations 2012 delayed by the appellant from August 13, 2012 to October 1, 2013, the said number plate was valid up to its expiry date on March 17, 2014.”

     

     

    “Consequently, the repeal of the 2004 regulations did not affect the validity of the number plate of the respondent vehicle vide regulations 230 (2) of regulations 2012, read with section 4(2) and 6 of the interpretation Act.

    “The lower court was therefore right, in issuing an injunction to protect the respondent’s right to enjoyment of the number plate issued on March 18, 2013, to expire on March 17, 2014.

    “I would allow this appeal in part; for the avoidance of doubt, this appeal only succeeds in part to the effect that regulations 2012 has legal force, and is enforceable from October 1, 2013, the administrative date set by FRSC.

    “The part of the decision of the lower court declaring the regulation 2012 unconstitutional is hereby set aside” ikegh held.

    On the issue of fear of impounding the respondent vehicle, the ?appellate court held that Section 35(1) of the constitution makes the personal liberty of a person an issue of Fundamental Human Right.

    “The application of the respondent was brought to protect his personal right to liberty and protection of his movable property, therefore, the appellant has no legal framework to enforce regulation 2012 as it relates to impounding the respondent’s vehicle.

    “The respondent would have the standing to sue to enforce his rights.

    “I find no substance in the argument that the respondent lacked the locus to have brought the action at the lower court; he has the locus standing to bring the action as rightly held by the said court,”? the court held.

    On the issue of reliance on newspaper publications, the appellate court held that although the trial court was in error to have relied on same without the reaction of the appellant, there was however, evidence in the form of affidavit in support.

    The court therefore, discountenanced the newspaper report adding that the decision of the lower court that the respondent proved his case, can still stand, as it would have been the same based on the affidavit.

    It further held that the injunction granted by the trial court was exactly the request of the respondent|plaintiff for his benefit.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Develop requisite knowledge’

    ‘Develop requisite knowledge’

    T he Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) has told its officers and men to be equipped with requisite best practices to promote the realisation of the Corps’ objectives.

    The RS 2.0 Lagos Zonal Commander, ACM Godwin Ogagaoghene gave the charge, at the third quarter retreat of the Federal Road Safety Corps,  held for senior officers of the Ogun State Sector Command  at Bezeer Hall, Sango Ota, Ogun State, last Tuesday.

    Speaking on the theme: “Improved regulatory and enforcement capacity: a panacea for incessant road traffic crashes in Ogun State,” Ogagaoghene, said the retreat is meant to generate ideas towards the implementation of the Corp’s  action plan to reduce road crashes across the country.

    According to him, the FRSC 2014 Corporate Strategic goal is to reduce road traffic crashes by 15per cent and its fatality by 25per cent.

    He canvassed stricter  enforcement of traffic rules and regulations to achieve the desired reduction in traffic crashes across the country.

    He advised the commanding officers to step up enforcement in their various commands, to eradicate accidents.

    The Ogun State Sector Commander, Mr Adegoke Adetunji, enjoined the officers to work harder and be transparent in the discharge of their duties.

    The guest speaker, a chief lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Dr Benjamin Edegbai, said bith the regular and the special marshals of the FRSC have the onerous responsibility of reducing crashes on the roads.

    He challenged them to be alive to their duty and protect lives and properties against crashes.

    He listed lack of resources, inadequate commitment, total absence or poor road facilities – such as markings, lighting, warning signs; deplorable habit of drivers, inadequate training, drug abuse, poor vision are responsible for most of crashes on the roads.

    These carnage, he added, can be significantly reduced if the regulatory and enforcement capacity of officers are improved upon.

  • FRSC goes tough on drink driving

    FRSC goes tough on drink driving

     

    • Proposes full enforcement to reduce crash rates

    Besides the N5,000  fine awarded any drunk driver, anyone caught driving under the influence of alcohol will have the vehicle impounded, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said.

    The Sector Commander of the RS2.1 Lagos Sector of the FRSC, Commander Hyginus Uche Omeje, stated this at a one-day workshop held for about 50 ‘ambassadors’ of the Don’t Drink and Drive (DDD) campaign held by the Nigeria Breweries Plc at its Iganmu training centre.

    The stakeholders were made up of the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Taxi Drivers and Cab Operators Association of Nigeria (TDCOAN), the media and Non Government Organisations (NGOs).

    Omeje, who was represented by the OperationalCommander in charge of the Surulere Zone, Commander Mrs. Olawumi Ramat Oyeniyi, said any driver caught with five percent alcohol in his or her bloodstream would be booked and may be barred from holding the steering until he becomes sober.

    She said the Corps was going hard on regulatory enforcement of all laws guiding road transportation to arrest cases of avoidable deaths and crashes on the roads.

    Mrs Oyeniyi said the Corps would deploy on all major corridors across the country, alcoholisers (breathlisers), to test drunk drivers with a view to ensuring that any driver regarded as a potential danger on the roads is pulled off before he causes accidents.

    She said besides being the highest contributory factor of accidents, alcohol should be avoided because of its negative health  implications.

    “What we are preaching is that driving and alcohol does not mix. If you want to drive, don’t drink. Drink that alcohol when you get to your destination. Be a responsible drinker,” Commander Oyeniyi said.

    In her lecture Responsible alcohol consumption, Dr. (Mrs) Oluchi Kanma-Okafor described alcohol as a depressant which slows down vital body functions.

    Mrs Kanma-Okafor said many drivers had resorted to alcohol in the wrong notion that it is a stimulant that could prevent them from sleeping on wheel.

    Describing alcohol as one of the top psychoactive substances commonly abused out of ignorance in the country, the medical practitioner said many consume alcohol and become dependent on the substance which alters their behaviour and induces sleep in them after “a momentary high.”

    She praised the Nigeria Breweries for sponsoring a culture of responsible drinking and urged drivers to cultivate the right attitude to alcohol consumption.

    “Skip that bottle if you can, but sip it and consume it over a long period of time if you can’t,” she advised drivers.

    She equally advised pregnant women to avoid alcohol in the interest of their babies.

    NB Plc’s CSR/Sustainability Manager Mrs Emete Tonukari, charged the ‘DDD ambassadors’ to see themselves as change agents and continue the education of their peers, friends, family members and associates to avoid drunk driving.

    She said the foremost brewer decided to preach “responsible alcohol consumption,” as part of its corporate social responsibility and in furtherance of its long term agenda to brew a better world, where empowering of the people is one of its three core pillars.

    She said besides the yearly campaign which would be taken to the six geo-political zones, the company as part of its strategic communications, has always included responsible drinking in all the marketing communications of all its beer brands.

    Mrs Tonukari said the company will be happy if the workshop’s lessons are taken to the town and more people become aware of the danger inherent in driving under the influence of alcohol.

    Earlier, the Corporate Affairs Adviser Mr Kufrie Ekanem, said it makes business sense for the company to preach responsible consumption of alcohol because it is interested in keeping its customers.

    “While  some people see it as contradictory for a beer producer to preach responsible drinking, we at the Nigeria Breweries know that the death of one person means the end of his business with us. So we want to keep you alive so that you can continue to enjoy our products.

    “We, therefore, want you to help us preach the message that you should drink responsibly and avoid driving under the influence of alcohol,” Ekanem said.

    President of the Safety Without Borders (SWB) Mr. Adenusi Patrick praised the company for focusing on commercial drivers at the workshop.

    “We know that the NURTW is the largest employer of labour in Nigeria and if we can get them as well as other operators in the transportation sector to support this initiative, we would have captured about 80 percent of the operators and users of our roads, leaving us with the other road users and even the pedestrians. The time has come for all hands to be on deck and one must commend the NB Plc for championing this campaign,” Adenusi said.

  • Death on the highway

    Death on the highway

    Between 2001 and 2011, an estimated 64,084 Nigerians died in road traffic incidents and several more hundred thousand sustained injuries. In this special report, Seun Akioye investigates the state of emergency rescue services for victims on the nation’s highways.

    The accident that almost crippled Udeze Edozie, a journalist, happened at the Ogere end of the Lagos/ Ibadan expressway. The journey had commenced early that morning from Lagos and the commercial bus he was travelling in seemed to be making good progress towards their eventual destination in Ibadan or so he thought.

    Then the accident happened in a flash with the vehicle somersaulting and passengers getting thrown out of the vehicle with many sustaining serious wound.

    Edozie made it out, he was thrown through the window of the 13-seater bus from his vantage front row seat. Other passengers crawled out all with varying degrees of injuries, blood flowed and bones were broken. He had fractured his leg, a big gush stood where shrapnel had cut through his skin, muscles and flesh.

    The first responders to the accident scene were the local residents, the street traders and other drivers. Then they called the police. The victims were made to sit on the ground while they await the arrival of the officials of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) who would provide the essential first aid for the accident victims.

    There had been two accidents that day which occurred not far from one another. The FRSC had only one vehicle so it divided the time between the two incidents. While the agency attended to one of the two accidents scenes, Edozie and others sat down on the floor, waiting and bleeding.

    “When the FRSC finally came they took us to their office for a first aid. I could not move my legs, it was horrible and they gave me anti-tetanus injection,” Edozie said. But unknown to him, that was the beginning of the nightmare.

     Grim statistic

    Globally, road traffic accidents account for 1.24million deaths according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Another 20-50 million people sustained injuries; some are permanent while others require long and tedious health care management. About 80 percent of this casualty occurred in middle and lower income countries which are motorizing rapidly.

    According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013 released by the WHO, 27 percent of the fatality of road traffic accidents is among pedestrians and cyclists. According to the world health body, there are five risk factors associated with road traffic accidents including: Speed, Drink-driving, Helmets, Seatbelts and Child restraints. But only 28 countries-representing 669 million people and seven percent of the world have adequate laws that address these five risk factors thereby saving more lives.

    In developing countries where 80 percent of the fatalities occur, less than 35 percent of the countries have adequate laws against road rage.  Presently, road traffic accident is the eight leading cause of death while it is estimated to become the fifth leading cause by 2030. In Africa, the risk of dying as a result of road traffic accident is 24.1 to 100,000 populations, a huge percentage compared to 10.3 per 100,000 obtainable in the European Union (EU).

    In Nigeria, the numbers of road traffic fatalities remain unacceptably high. In 2011, the FRSC reported that there were 4,765 road traffic crashes nationwide in which a total of 4,372 people were killed and 17,464 people sustained injuries.

    Over a 10-year period from 2001 to 2011, the number of deaths through road crashes has remained high. An estimated 64,083 people lost their lives due to road traffic accident with several thousand sustaining injuries.

    The high rate of fatality on Nigerian roads is said to be due to a number of factors including the parlous state of emergency service stations on Nigeria’s highways.

    frscT

    When there are no doctors

    The Lagos- Ibadan expressway is reputed to be one of the busiest in Nigeria. It also serves as a link from Lagos to other Southwestern states in Nigeria. It is also the gateway to the Southeast and Northern part of Nigeria from the Southwest.  Until last year, successive governments have neglected regular maintenance of the road. The result has been dire consequences for the regular road user.

    The highway has since assumed the frightening appellation as one of the deadliest expressways in Nigeria. “There must be accident on this road at least once every two day and many of them would involve somebody dying,” Olufemi Onanuga, an insurance agent who is a regular user on the road told The Nation. The Lagos-Ibadan expressway may be notorious for the number of road accidents that occur on it every week; it also lacks adequate emergency response service points.

    According to investigation conducted by The Nation on the expressway, there are five emergency operations points from Lagos to Ibadan. Three of these emergency points are actually FRSC operation centers, while one was established by the Lagos state government, another accident clinic was a donation from a private foundation.

    There is only one accident clinic on the 110km expressway; it is the Sagamu FRSC operations unit which was equipped with the requisite medical team to deal with accidents on the road.

    This dearth of adequate response on the highway when disaster happens has dire consequences for accident victims.  According to regular users of the road, the number of accident fatality should have been lower if expert help had reached the victims early. The space created by lack of adequate Medicare on the expressway has been filled by road side sellers and members of the local population.

    “When accident happens here, we are the doctors. As we are here selling our goods, we have also saved many lives because it may take some time for the police to come and carry the victims,” a vehicle mechanic at Ogere end of the express way told The Nation.

    Edozie’s experience was as unpleasant as it was dangerous. At the FRSC center in Sagamu where some of the victims were finally taken to, operations were allegedly performed without anesthetics or any pain reliever. According to Edozie, stitches were made with the most crude and cruel instrument. But the worst was when the medical officials allegedly asked the victims to pay for their treatment.

    “I got three stitches and it was without anesthetics, in the state that we were, they asked us to pay N3, 000 for our treatment. When they stitched my leg, I was shouting and blood was coming out the more. It was a crude form of operation and it was worse than the accident itself,” Edozie said.

    According to him, nurses at the centre seem to be private practitioners working in collaboration with the FRSC. Their attitude pointed to the fact that they were not trained in managing emergency situations. There were allegations that they were contracted to work at the center and they made their money from accident victims.

    But his ordeal was far from over.  When he returned to Lagos he had to undergo a series of treatment from a private hospital in order to correct the abnormal treatment he received at the FRSC centre.

    “My doctor told me the stitches they gave me have been banned for over 30 years by the WHO and the treatment was even wrong. I had to spend so much to correct what they did to my leg. It took several months before it could heal and if I didn’t have the means to take care of myself, I would have lost my leg,” he said.

    Nigeria continues to lose human lives and resources to the inadequate emergency response on the expressway. Even on Lagos- Ibadan expressway, apart from the FRSC emergency clinic in Sagamu there are no other medical facilities available until one gets to Ibadan.

    What this means is that the chances for survival for any accident victim between Sagamu and Ibadan is slim. “Many people have died on that road because help came a little too late, I cannot imagine having an accident along any stretch of that road because the possibility of dying is real,” says Onanuga.

    This scenario is replicated all over the country.  In 2007, Stella Iwuagwu, an Assistant Professor at Cleveland State University, Ohio USA, was travelling from Abuja to Kano when the crash that broke her C1 and C2 vertebrae, occurred.  After the impact, she fell into a ravine and remained there until passersby and sympathizers transported her in a commercial bus (Danfo) to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) where doctors were on strike before moving her to a maternity home.

    An ambulance came the next day and moved her to the National Hospital Abuja. “ I was taken straight to the emergency room and seen by a medical officer who immediately put a collar on my neck. Even though I was screaming that my back was broken, they just kept lifting me  from one stretcher to another, I tried hard to make them realize the greater injury was to my back not my neck but they just continued to do what they were doing without regard to my cries,” Iwuagwu told The Nation.

    The medical team at the National Hospital ignored Iwuagwu’s broken back until it was too late. She was eventually moved to Ghana and the United States of America where she has since remained albeit on a wheelchair.

    Inside government’s accident clinic

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    inside Lagos accident centre 2

    When The Nation visited the accident and emergency clinic where Edozie was attended to, a large signpost by the side of the expressway announces to the traveler: “The Federal Road Safety Corps, Accident & Emergency Clinic.”  Inside the expansive compound, the operations department inhabited the extreme back while the offices and department are to the left. In the center of the compound is the clinic.

    Commissioned on February 1st 2006, by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, the accident and emergency clinic is the only emergency centre for accident victim on the Lagos- Ibadan expressway belonging to the FRSC. The clinic covers the Sagamu operations of the FRSC and its scope is from Mallo filling station to Catholic junction, a distance of about 30 kilometers.

    Investigations at the clinic revealed that it was grossly understaffed and underequipped. According to an operations officer who does not want to be named, the clinic currently has no functional ambulance and whenever there is emergency, a patrol vehicle would be converted to an ambulance by fitting a stretcher inside the open roof booth.

    Inside the clinic, there is the emergency room with four beds where first aid is administered on accident victims. There is an oxygen tank, a functional blood bank, a UCG which tests the heartbeats of patients. By the side is a small medical laboratory where blood can be tested. The next room is a ward which can hold about 10 patients at the same time and the last room is an operations theatre.

    The operations theater has minimal equipment. There is the operation bed which creaks when moved about, anesthetic equipments, standing light and sucking machine. Akinjobi Beyioku is the pharmacist in charge of the clinic when The Nation visited. He is a soft spoken lanky fellow who seemed dedicated to his work. But he has largely been idle for the better part of the year having attended to only 136 patients from January to September 2014.

    “We have had a low accident year and many of them are not serious cases. Here we can handle laceration, bruises and apply bandages. There is a theater but we still need more equipment and we have a ward where we can admit patients. When a case is beyond us, we usually refer to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) or the Federal Medical Center, (FMC) in Abeokuta or the hospital that is closer to the home of the patient,” Beyioku said.

    He denied that the clinic charges for treatment and uses unauthorized medical personnel.  “Here we have doctors and nurses even a midwife. Our treatments are free and there is no way anybody would charge for treating an accident victim,” he said.

    Another official told The Nation how the emergency operations work: “We have our emergency number which is 122, when there is an accident and the people call this number, it goes to ourAbuja call center and they direct the nearest emergency centre to the rescue.”

    It was learnt that the usual response time is 10 minutes after the emergency centre must have received the distress call. But the clinic was not designed to handle serious injury and would usually refer such to the nearest hospital. “We have first aid equipments, stretcher and oxygen. When we bring victims here for treatment and they needed to be referred, we take them to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu or Fakoya hospital which is a private clinic,” the official said.

    The Ogere FRSC operations centre, on the expressway has no ambulances or medical team on ground. According to some officials at the centre, which controls Ogere to Oluyole in Ibadan –a distance of about 47kilometers- accident victims are generally referred to the General Hospital in Iperu because “it is closer than the FRSC Sagamu clinic.”

    However, it was learnt that the leadership at the FRSC is planning to open another accident clinic on the Lagos Ibadan expressway to fully accomplish its corporate strategy for 2014 which is to reduce road traffic crash by 15 percent and fatality by 25 percent.

    States step up campaign

    Meanwhile, Lagos and Oyo states at the two end of the expressway seem to have taken pro active measures in the prevention of deaths on the roads. In 2010, the Lagos state government established an accident response clinic at the toll-gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. It is a modern and well equipped clinic designed to provide “first class basic emergency health care,” before accident victims are taken to hospital.

    The Lagos state commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris  said the 20-bed center consists of a reception, wards, treatment room and operating theater among others and would help to reduce the response time and distance usually involved from the point the ambulance services takes the accident victims to the hospital.

    When The Nation visited the centre, the medical team appeared ready for emergencies services. The centre has a laboratory for blood check and a chemistry department. There is a social welfare department which links up accident victims with their relatives after treatment.

    The state has also acquired 26 mobile clinics to facilitate the transfer of accident victims to hospitals. The new mobile clinics boast of  twin cross main stretcher, belts and floor fastener; two oxygen cylinders of 100 liters each; scoop stretcher; twice foldable reserve stretcher; extrication device; Collar Cerviflex; Ventilator Spencer 170; Emergency Case Circulation; vacuum Suction Pump; and Sphygmomanometer.

    Oyo state has replicated the design from Lagos with the purchase of 20 mobile clinics to respond to emergencies on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ibadan-Ife expressway, Ibadan-Ojoo expressway as well as the Eleyele-Ologuneru areas.

    The commissioner for Health, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin said the ambulances are of global standard and designed to handle treatments. “They are not just to convey corpses or casualties to hospital. The patients receive treatment and are taken to the nearest hospital for continuation of treatment where necessary. Each ambulance has a telephone, drugs and medical equipment. There is a driver, a stretcher and a midwife, who most times handles childbirth in the ambulance if the need arises. So deliveries can be safely taken in the ambulances.” Gbadegesin said.

    In addition, the state has acquired a mobile phone toll-free number by which the public can call the ambulance.  The number is 08139858585. “No fewer than 30 major cases have been handled with the highest number coming from accidents on Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Ibadan-Ife expressway,”  Gbadegeshin  said.

    Apart from the state emergency numbers, Lagos state emergency center also has numbers for complaint, service improvement and medical director. But when the emergency numbers of Ogun and Oyo state were called, none went through. Some officials at the states attributed this to “network problem” which also indicated the need for a dedicated toll-free line instead of the usual mobile telephone line as in the case in the states.

    A death so cruel

    The crash scene of Hamza El-rufai. High speed has been blamed for the fatal crash

    It is not just the government that is concerned about road traffic fatalities, private organizations do too. That was the case of Dan Akujobi . For about nine years, he battled with the pain of the death of his son Daniel, who was born after eight years of childlessness. It was not just the loss that grieves the father but the manner and the constant thought that tugged at his mind that his son might have lived if he had received the needed medical attention.

    In 2005, Daniel Akujobi had a fatal accident while returning from school at Mowe. He did not die immediately and his father insisted if he had received medical assistance at the first hospital he was taken to after the accident. After repeated visits to Nigerian hospitals without any improvement, Daniel was eventually flown to South Africa but died a few minutes before landing in the country.

    In order to keep his memories alive, his parents established the Daniel Ogechi Akujobi Memorial Foundation (DOAMF).  The Foundation has been involved in charitable events especially saving lives on Nigeria’s expressway.

    In 2010, DOAMF built an accident and emergency clinic at Mowe near the scene of Daniel’s accident, donating it to Ogun State Government. “He was rejected at the first hospital they rushed him to. So, I felt there is need to address this by setting up this center to save others that might be in similar situation. For this purpose, the facility is located very close to the scene of the accident that claimed the life of the young lad,” his father said.

    Impact on healthcare

    Inside accident centre 3

    The WHO estimates that about 60 percent of road traffic fatalities occur to people between the ages of 15-44 years. In Nigeria, while a number of state governments have put in some measures to ensure adequate response in road traffic crash, many of the Nigerian highways especially in the Northern part of the country continue to record increased fatality. For instance travelling from Abuja to Taraba through Nassarawa and Markudi, there is not a single accident emergency clinic on the highway.

    Statistics from the FRSC indicate that Nigeria has one of the highest road traffic crash records in the world with the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja having the highest road crash.

    There are more bad news for Nigeria and her health system. In 2013, Minister for Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu said out of a survey involving 193 countries, Nigeria recorded the second highest rate of road accident fatality. He said in road traffic crash, Nigeria records 162 deaths per 100,000, population.  This has had adverse effects on the country’s health system and may hinder the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

    Also the country focal person for the UN Decade of Action, Dr. Sydney Ibeanusi revealed that about 80 percent of all injuries in Nigeria are traffic related putting a strain on Nigeria’s fragile health care system.

    The Head, Policy, research and Statistics of the FRSC, Kayode Olagunju said: “In 2012 alone, there was a report of a total of 4,260 deaths on Nigerian roads; an average of 12 persons died daily and with 20,752 injured. Hence, on the average, 69 persons were either injured or killed on our roads daily; 48,114 persons were involved in 6,269 documented cases. This means, on the average of one hour, 0.7, that is an approximated one crash occurred on the road.”

    Apart from the high fatality, it is estimated that 29.1 percent of road traffic victims suffer disability while 13.5 percent are unable to return to work. Nigeria is also estimated to lose N80billion annually due to loss in properties and healthcare costs.

    But more importantly is the dearth of trauma experts in Nigeria’s healthcare system to care for the  road traffic crash victims. Recently President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned a N1billion Trauma center in Abuja which he described as “being equipped with world-class equipment which is the first of its kind in Nigeria.” Lagos has been the only state with a functional trauma center.

    An orthopaedic surgeon, Michael Ugbeye said the concept of a trauma team is absent in most Nigerian hospitals while he also said a major hindrance is the lack of funding.

    “Some hospitals have the policy of free emergency services for the first day of admission for trauma victims, but this is more often not the case. There is also the challenge of inadequate intra-hospital transfer services for specialist care. Patients and their relatives are made to bear the cost of treatment in the emergency room.

    “Most trauma care funding is by the federal government, which is usually limited to teaching hospitals and tertiary institutions in urban centers. Annually, more Nigerians die as a result of failure of emergency response system. Though there are flashes of intervention at both federal and state levels, these efforts are often under resourced and not sustained long enough to provide sufficient care for victims,” Ugbeye said.

    A decade of action

    In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 64/255 thereby proclaiming the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety, (2011-2020), with the campaign slogan: “ Wear. Believe. Act.” The UN also launched the World Day for Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims in 2005, which is celebrated every third Sunday in the month of November.

    The world body estimated that if necessary actions are put in place, the world would save at least five million people from road traffic crash. At the current global rate road traffic deaths accounts for more than the deaths from some major diseases and epidemic. This is what the UN intends to eradicate.

    Some of the measures which the WHO is asking countries to adopt include having a single universal national access emergency number; a functioning ambulance service that can rapidly transfer patients to the hospital, reduction of speed, use of motorcycle helmets, use of child restraints and seats-belts and general measures to prevent and reduce road traffic crash.

    Meanwhile, when The Nation called the national emergency numbers, all of them appeared to be working twenty four hours.  Both the National Emergency and the FRSC number are routed through a control room which would then inform the nearest operation center to the emergency.

    In November, Nigeria will join the rest of the world in celebrating the World Day for Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims. But the question would remain; will Nigeria be able to stem the tide of its road crash fatalities?

    National Emergency numbers in Nigeria

    National Toll Free Number:                Call 112 from any network

    FRSC Emergency number:                 Call 122 from any network

    Oyo state emergency number:            Call 08139858585

     

    LAGOS STATE EMERGENCY NUMBERS

     

    • Call toll-free:                                767
    • Grievance officer:                        0802226225
    • Service improvement office:     08023112856
    • Charter complaint officer:          08052030249
    • Medical director:                          08157992930 

     

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    Ogun State Accident emergency numbers

     

    • Call toll-free:  08037470101, 08037470102

     

     

  • Court of Appeal upholds FRSC powers on new plate number

    Court of Appeal upholds FRSC powers on new plate number

    THE Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has upheld the powers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to set deadlines for the new vehicle number plate and drivers’ license.

    In the judgment delivered by Justice Joseph Ike with Justices Ndukwe Anyanwu and Jamillah Tukur, the court set aside the earlier pronouncement by the Federal High Court, Lagos in the case of Emmanuel Ofoegbu vs FRSC.

    It also upheld the validity of the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012.

    Reacting to the Appeal court’s verdict, FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Boboye Oyeyemi, commended the judiciary for not only providing a clear interpretation of the existing laws on number plates and driver’s licence, but also validating the statutory powers of the FRSC.

    He enjoined motorists to comply with the law.

     

  • ‘Improve your work ethics’

    ‘Improve your work ethics’

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun State has urged its officers to be more dedicated to their jobs.

    At a workshop, “Improved regulatory and enforcement capacity in FRSC, ways forward in RTC and fatality reduction”, the State Coordinator, Special Marshal and Partnership, Emmanuel Fagbenro, said: “The event is to reshape the attitude, enlarge the horizon and provide robust knowledge that will enable the officers face the challenges they encounter on the job.

    “The programme is also to reward committed marshals. The Special Marshals are the volunteer arm of the FRSC, they are men and women of proven integrity in the society who are able to carry out patrol and other activities that ensure good road usage.”

    The Sector Commander, Adetunji Adegoke, said: “The workshop is necessary because it allows Special Marshals and stakeholders reflect deeply and analyse issues concerning road traffic rules and regulations as well as their enforcement.”

    He advised regular marshals, special marshals and stakeholders to work harder to be more dedicated and committed.