The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ondo State Command, has called on motorists to always provide accurate and reliable data to enhance the safety on the highways.

Mr Ezekiel SonAllah, State Sector Commander of FRSC, made the call on Monday in Akure during a public enlightenment to mark the West Africa Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) Day.

The theme of the 2023 WARSO Day celebration is “Improving Road Safety Data Management: A Call For Action”.

SonAllah, who explained that celebration of the  WARSO day was an annual event, said that the executive committee of WARSO chose May 8 for the 2023 celebration during its resolution held in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, on April 2023.

According to him, as long as road crashes continue to be on the rise, understanding the cause of accidents and how to prevent them will continue to be increasingly important.

“There is a need for accurate and reliable road safety data because without good data, it is a great challenge to identify patterns, trends and make informed decision about road safety policies and practices.

“Crash investigations play a critical role in providing valuable insight into the events leading up to a crash and identifying contributing factors.

“So, through collaboration and data sharing, we can uncover valuable insights that can lead to more effective road safety policies and practices,” he said.

The FRSC sector commander, who called on relevant stakeholders to join hands with the corps to provide accurate data, said that this would help in prioritising decision making and work towards creating safer roads for all.

“With a continued commitment to this effort, we can make considerable progress in improving road safety and reducing the number of collisions on our roads thereby saving lives,” he said.

Mr Tobi Ogunleye, Special Adviser to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Transport, who was represented by Mr Alaba Adeleye, Director of Vehicle Inspection Service in the state, charged motorists to always imbibe the road safety culture while they are on the wheels.

Ogunleye said that if the motorists could collaborate with the relevant stakeholders, issues of crashes on highways would be minimal.

According to him, when we look at the crashes on our roads there is something we need to do for the betterment of our road users.

” Our motorists need to adopt the ways and manners women imbibe safety on the roads because hardly do women get involved in road accident if compare with their  male counterpart.

“There are lessons to learn from women because women will never drive bad or faulty vehicles, never drive without licence, and neither will they drink beer while on wheel,” he said.

Mr Akinrinade Bashiru, Ajapada NURTW Branch Secretary in Ilesha Garage, Akure, who appreciated the corps for the programme, called on the FRSC and the government to provide road signs on highways to enhance safety and reduce accidents.

Also speaking, Mr Kareem Oluomo, Chairman Oloko NURTW Branch in Akure, attributed causes of the accidents to fake spare parts and tyres.

He said that it was critical for FRSC and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to collaborate to ensure that fake spare parts were not stocked by auto parts traders. (

Residents of Sokoto have lauded the commitment of  the Police and other security agencies for their sustained raidis of criminal hideouts at the state metropolis.

The Newsmen recalls that Mr Ali Kaigama, the newly posted Police Commissioner in the state at his maiden address to the Officers and men of the command on Friday vowed to conduct the operation.

Kaigama assured that the state metropolis, major towns and public places would enjoy visibility policing, patrols and raid of black spots in order to eradicate violent crimes, thuggery, communal clashes and other emerging threats.

“This will be done in accordance with international best practices and also be mindful of human right abuses.

“The command will also engage and strengthen the services of PCRC at all divisions, area commands and state headquarters to achieve the set objective,” he said.

Kaigama added that the police, in collaboration with other security personnel would continue to strive to perform their duties diligently to enable the residents to sleep with their two eyes closed.

Malam Musa Dan-Malam, a resident of Mana in Sokoto South Local Government Area, said the police had performed excellently toward ensuring sanity in their environment.

“We have been facing a lot of threats even before the recent political activities, but with the current police raids on criminals, we experience freedom of life.

“I was a vctim of phone snatching, as I am talking to you before it is in the daylight that those criminals will attack innocent residents, collect their handsets and other belongings.

“More over, nobody can stop those bad boys, but today, the situation had totally changed even in the night one can move freely without any intimidation,” he said.

Dan-Malam appreciated the security agencies, while appealing to them to sustain the feat to ensure the situation is not refitted.

Also speaking,  Madam Patient Emanuel, a resident of Dambuwa, in Dange-Shuni LGA, said the criminal activities of snatching phones, purses and ladies’ bags along the road and in some areas have become more worrisome.

“However, if the security operatives will sustain these raids, the state will return to its position of being the most peaceful in the country,” she said.

On his part, Bello Ahmadu, a resident of Kanwuri in Sokoto North LGA, said the current security operations would bolster business activities and build more confidence for the residents to report criminals.

“Those that continue to terrorise our areas are known, but people are afraid to report them in order not to become victims.

“Therefore, we hope the security agencies will be sincere in their operations in order to win the confidence of the good people of our state,” he said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Oyo State Command, recorded 105 road traffic crashes in the first quarter of the year,  the Sector Commander, Mr Joshua Adekanye has said.

Adekanye said this during a lecture to mark the 2023 West African Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) Day on Monday in Ibadan.

The Newsmen reports that the theme of the event is “Improving Road Safety Data Management: A call for Action”.

The sector commander attributed the high number of road crashes to speed violation, saying it accounted for 68.57 per cent out of the  the total number of 105 recorded  incidences.

He added that incidents of burst tyres and dangerous driving followed closely as they both accounted for 4.76 per cent and 11.5 per cent of the crashes recorded.

Adekanye, however, said that the record of accidents in the first quarter of the year showed  a decline in road crashes in the state when compared with the first quarters of 2021 and 2022.

Adekanye said that the commitment of the corps at reducing road crashes to the barest minimum and with the support of government and other stakeholders had contributed to the decline in crashes.

“The stories on the roads can be amended from bloody to enjoyment if all road users could change their attitude and respect the rules and objectives of traffic laws.

“Our nation can be removed from the list of most dangerous roads to drive motor vehicles to global examples of safe roads that respect the sanctity of human life and provide an enabling environment for economic progress if we obey the traffic rules,” he said.

The sector commander said that the 15 countries that are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are members of WARSO.

He said that the main goal of WARSO was promotion and reinforcement of road safety in West Africa through effective management of road safety and traffic matters with a view to drastically reducing road traffic crashes.

Adekanye said that WARSO Day was celebrated annually on May 8 in Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries.

In his lecture, Dr Benjamin Oluwabusuyi of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), called on FRSC to continue to improve on its services to the public and effectively manage casualty on roads in Nigeria.

He said that data collection was the responsibility of all and that every data collected helped in decision making.

Dr Matthew Olaogun, an official of the Oyo State Hospital Management Board, called for more synergy at reducing casualties on the roads and advised  officials of the FRSC to be diligent in discharging their duties.

The event was attended by the  Head of National Bureau of Statistics, Mr Emmanual Apata, Coordinator FRSC Special Mashals, Pastor John Adegbotoluwa, Corp Commander, Olalekan Morakinyo, Head of Data management University College Hospital (UCH),Ibadan, Dr Micheal Obaro, among others.