The Court of Appeal in Asaba, Delta State, has upheld a Federal High Court decision that banned the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) from operating on state and local roads in the country.
In 2019, a Federal High Court in the state ruled that the FRSC lacked the legal authority to operate or engage in any activities on state and local government roads.
The case against the FRSC was filed by Darlington Ehikim, a lawyer and Nigerian Bar Association member in Delta State, according to Thisday newspaper.
The trial court had, in its judgement, restrained the commission from operating on roads other than federal highways and also awarded a cost of ₦10 million against the commission.
In response to the ruling, the FRSC contested the decision of the high court by appealing to the Court of Appeal.
The verdict was delivered by Judge E. Nwite on Monday, dismissing the FRSC’s appeal and upholding the trial court’s decision.
The court also confines the commission’s operations exclusively to federal roads throughout the country.
The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dauda Biu, expressed the commission’s intention to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgement.
However, FRSC’spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, stated that the commission is seeking a stay of execution of the appellate court judgement.
Kazeem said the commission has been informed about the court’s ruling but has not yet received a copy of it.
According to him, “Once we obtain the copy, we will carefully review the judgement and make an informed decision. In the meantime, we urge the public to remain calm.”
He also added that the judgement implies that FRSC officials will be unable to respond to or provide assistance to accident victims on roads other than federal highways.
