“Roads need reform, not rifles” – NANS opposes move to give FRSC guns

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has rejected the bill seeking to arm personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

Comrade Sileola Akinbodunse, NANS vice-president of inter-campus and gender affairs, said in a statement on Friday that arming FRSC officials is a “reckless misstep that endangers commuters”.

He said highways across the country have become unsafe due to kidnapping and terrorism, with 1,200 lives lost in 2024 alone, according to FRSC data.

“As students navigating these perilous routes, NANS rejects the bill to arm the Federal Road Safety Corps, which scaled second reading in October 2024, as a reckless misstep that endangers commuters,” Akinbodunse said.

The students’ body said the FRSC, founded in 1988 to ensure safe motoring, is struggling to fulfil its primary mandate.

NANS said: “In Q1 2025, 2,650 accidents claimed 1,593 lives, an 8.3 percent surge from 2024, exposing systemic failures in enforcement and infrastructure.

“Arming an agency struggling with basic duties, like issuing driver’s licences delayed for months (40,000 pending in Abia state alone), defies logic and global best practices.”

NANS accused the corps of bribery and unprofessionalism, citing 563 drivers who faced bribe charges in 2025, while systemic extortion allegedly siphons N50 billion yearly.

The association added that marshals are poorly paid, earning N80,000 monthly, and are equipped with outdated tools.

“Arming such a force risks replicating police excesses with over 1,000 extrajudicial killings since 2020 and further eroding public trust,” NANS said.

The group called on lawmakers to halt the bill and instead invest in 5,000 new FRSC vehicles, ethics training and digital licensing systems.

“With over 80 million Nigerian youths yearning for safety, per NBS 2025, we demand policies that humanise students and commuters, not militarise their journeys,” the statement said.