6th August, 2015
Daniels Ekugo
Two drivers belonging to Dangote Company, Sani Ahmed and Umar Musa, have been sentenced to 3 months in Prison with hard labour for reckless/dangerous driving, speed limit violation, driving without valid driver’s licences among other traffic offences at Oluyole, Ibadan along Lagos – Ibadan expressway.
According to Christy Obasi, Zonal Public Education Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps, Zone RS2 Command Headquarters, Lagos, “the arrest and sentencing of the two drivers were made during the ongoing FRSC Special Operation on Lagos –Ibadan expressway code named ‘Operation Scorpion’.
The Mobile Court sittings in Ogun and Lagos State segments of the corridor had early on tried a number of other truck drivers arrested and arraigned before the courts by the Corps operatives.
While addressing some truck and tanker drivers at Ogere during his routine monitoring of the special operation from Lagos to Ibadan on Wednesday, FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 2 Command Lagos, Assistant Corps Marshal Nseobong Akpabio said: “the exercise, is part of various measures designed to tackle the menace of haulage truck drivers on Nigerian roads.”
Akpabio cautioned the drivers and other motorists generally against reckless and dangerous driving, driving under influence of drugs and or alcohol, speed limit violation, driving with worn out tyres as well as driving motor vehicle without valid driver’s licence among other anti-road safety practices.
On the arrest of the Dangote truck drivers, Akpabio explained that Ahmed Sani drove his unregistered fully loaded truck with cement in a reckless and dangerous manner, inimical to the safety of himself and other road users.
The truck had no registration number plate but company inscription of ‘IBESE 5’.
Sani’s dangerous driving led other motorists on the road to lodge complaint with three various FRSC patrol teams at Ogere and Onigari along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the patrol teams sent traffic alert to other patrol teams within and outside the corridor to watch out for the vehicle.
“Following the signal, Sani was flagged down by FRSC team but all efforts made to arrest him failed as the driver continued in his reckless and dangerous driving. Mindful of the danger inherent in such tendency, reinforcement was made until the driver was tactically arrested and was immediately arraigned before mobile Court sitting at Oluyole, Oyo State along the Ibadan – Lagos Expressway.
He was charged with dangerous driving, operating a vehicle without number plate, failure to stop when asked to do so by Law Enforcement Officers and driving without driver’s licence in contravention of provisions of the Federal Road Safety Commission Act, National Road Traffic Regulation 2012, Oyo state Road Traffic Law, and Federal Highway Act.
The Court sentenced Mr Ahmed Sani to 3 months imprisonment with hard labour and payment of N81,000 fine.”
Speaking further, Akpabio said: “The second driver, Musa Umar was also arraigned before the court for driving a truck with registration number RMG 29 XA, fully loaded with cement, dangerously on the highway and without a valid driver’s licence.
Umar pleaded guilty and showed remorse for his act and promised to drive responsibly henceforth. The court convicted him but with option of fine of N60,000 while his truck was impounded until the company produced another licensed driver to drive the truck.
Meanwhile, in Lagos 12 other truck drivers were prosecuted at the court for 19 traffic offences and were all sentenced.
In Ogun State, 27 truck drivers arrested by various patrol teams on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Wednesday were charged to mobile court in Sagamu, Ogun State for offences ranging from unlatched containers on trucks, dangerous driving, driving with worn out tyres and driving without valid driver’s licence.
Out of the 27 drivers, 22 of them were sentenced while drivers were discharged and acquitted by the court. The operation continues.