FRSC officials brutalise taxi driver

A taxi driver in Calabar, Cross River State, Mr. Smith Stanley, was on Thursday brutalised by four officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps for attempting to crush them when he was flagged down for violating traffic rule.Officials of the FRSC in collaboration with Road Safety Marshals, National Youth Service Corps Safety Club and other safety related clubs, were conducting the yearly Yuletide awareness campaign on road safety at the popular Eleven-Eleven Bus Stop, opposite the Central Bank of Nigeria branch in Calabar, when the incident occurred.Our correspondent, who was monitoring the awareness campaign when the incident occurred, observed that the driver was flagged down by the officials when it was noticed that the blue-colour taxi cab, an Aveo Chevrolet, with number plate, Cross River XB 533 CAL, was overloaded with six passengers, excluding the driver.But instead of stopping, Stanley used his vehicle to shove the FRSC officials aside while manoeuvering his way through the traffic jam. He was, however, unlucky when a police traffic warden used another vehicle to block the taxi.Officials of the FRSC immediately pounced on Stanley, dragged him out of the vehicle and beat him mercilessly before impounding the vehicle.Stanley, who was bleeding from the nose as a result of the punches he received, told our correspondent before he was whisked away that he wanted to evade arrest after realising that he had contravened a traffic rule.Some of the FRSC officials, who preferred to be anonymous, expressed disappointment over the drivers attitude.They said their intention was actually to warn him against overloading and give him safety awareness leaflets, which were being distributed to commuters and motorists.When contacted, the Sector Commander of FRSC in the state, Mr. Taiwo Eseyin, said any driver who contravened the law would be brought to book.Eseyin, who was not at the scene of the incident, however, said officials of the commission had gone out on enlightenment campaign on the importance of safe driving, especially during the festive period.He said, We have all gone out to different routes on enlightenment campaign and not to negatively discipline offenders. If anybody contravenes the law, we will book him. That man had disobeyed the law and was attempting to run away.He saw our vehicles and officials in their uniforms; and he ought not to have done what he did.On the awareness campaign, Eseyin said the commission would reduce road traffic crashes in the country by 50 per cent before year 2020.
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