The member representing Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Oga, has strongly condemned the inhumane treatment meted out to a commercial bus driver by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Oga, who chairs the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, reacted to a viral video on social media which showed the bus driver stripped half-naked and repeatedly assaulted by FRSC officers in the presence of his passengers.
The incident has sparked nationwide outrage, with citizens expressing anger and demanding accountability from the authorities. The lawmaker, describing the act as “barbaric and unlawful,” stated that nothing in the FRSC Establishment Act of 2007 empowers officers to brutalise road users.
Citing the provisions of the law, he explained that Section 10(4) of the Act stipulates that “Any person who contravenes the provisions of this Act shall be liable on conviction to the penalties prescribed by law.” He stressed that the authority to punish lies with the courts and not with field officers. He further referenced Section 28(2) of the Act, which states that “Prosecutions for offences under this Act shall be instituted in the name of the Federal Road Safety Commission by legal officers of the Commission, or by any legal practitioner appointed by the Commission.”
According to him, these provisions make it clear that offenders are to be arraigned before competent courts, not subjected to physical assault. “The law should take its course, not inhuman treatment. Road users must be dealt with within the ambit of the law. These officers are presumed to be professionally trained, so beating a driver before his passengers is shameful and unlawful,” he said.
Hon. Oga cautioned that law enforcement agencies must treat Nigerians with a human face, stressing that the use of excessive force erodes public confidence and undermines trust in the institutions mandated to protect citizens.
