Judiciary
–
The Federal High Court in Abuja dismisses the case against the implementation of the speed limiters introduced by the Federal Road Safety Corps to curb road crashes in Nigeria
THE Federal High Court, Abuja, has ruled in favour of the Federal Road Safety Corps in a case against the implementation of speed limiting devise which was billed to start in April. The case against the FRSC was instituted by the Registered Trustees of International Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Society challenging the powers of the Corps to implement the speed limiter.
But Justice Stephen Chukwu ruling in the Suit No FHC/Abj/CS/805/15 on Thursday, April 7, dismissed the case of the opponents against the speed limiting device for lack of merit. The court held that FRSC has acted in line with its statutory powers by introducing, imposing and implementing the use of the speed limiting device in Nigeria.
The FRSC had introduced the speed limiter in a bid to attain its yearly goal of trending down road traffic crashes and reducing fatality rate by 15 percent. With this ruling, the Federal Road Safety Corps’ Speed Limiting Device initiative has raised concerns in the polity among different interest groups have now gained grounds with the ruling by Justice Chukwu.
According to Bisi Kazeem, head Media Relations and Strategy, the entire Corps is excited at the landmark judgement as it has emboldened them to continue to strive and work towards achieving the 2016 strategic goals. Kazeem, in a statement made available to Realnews on Thursday, said Boboye Oyeyemi, corps marshal, was full of praises for the judiciary, especially the courage shown by the High court judge who delivered the landmark ruling.
The statement quoted the Corps Marshal as saying: “It is the interest of Nigerians that propels us to device methods of reducing road traffic crashes further, having realised that speed accounts for a larger proportion of causes of crashes in Nigeria. Certainly, this judgment will equally propel us to do more in curbing rate of road crashes in Nigeria”.
Kazeem, who is also corps commander, assured that the FRSC is positive that with the introduction of speed limiters, Nigerians and all FRSC major stakeholders will notice the reduction in crashes. It is in the interest of the corps marshal to see a situation where this preventive measure put in place works for the best of all Nigerians, he said.
It should be recalled that the speed limiter has the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari and the implementation date was originally slated for April 1, 2016, before concerns were raised about the innovation. The FRSC now appeals to all Nigerians to see the initiative as one that is in the interest of the motoring public.
— Apr 18, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
|
Tags:
