The Bauchi State Command of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) has vowed to ensure that the battered image of the Corps is redeemed in the state, following a warning by Governor Bala Mohammed against extortion of the people.
Governor Mohammed had last week while distributing 655 units of tricycles and 150 commuter buses to transporters in the state, accused FRSC personnel of extorting money from motorists and other road users.
According to him, the illegal activities of the FRSC personnel have become a major impediment to free flow of traffic in the state, adding that motorists and other road users have been complaining about the activities of the personnel.
The governor then warned that his administration would no longer fold its arms and allow the road safety officials to continue to extort his people.
“We are not inimical to the activities done by them but I am calling on them publicly that I will not stay, look and allow our people to be subjected to the agony of collection and collection unnecessarily,” Governor Mohammed had warned.
However, a swift move, the Command in an internal memo addressed to all Unit Commanders (UCs) of RS 12.1 Bauchi, signed by the Sector Commander, Abdulrazak Najume, the copy of which was sighted by DAILY POST on Monday, the Corps stated that it is against extortion, adding that it has put in place sophisticated mechanisms to weed out such practices from the Corps.
The memo directed all unit commanders to immediately reactivate all existing strategies against extortion, including daily per-patrol brief, among other measures.
“As a matter of urgency, you are by this memo directed as follows: You should immediately reactivate all the already existing FRSC strategies to curb extortion in the Corps; Daily pre-patrol brief, a routine check on your patrol teams,” Najume directed.
It stated that the unit commanders can find a means of getting feedback from the public on their operatives’ conducts, adding that feedback boxes should be introduced in major parks and markets to achieve this.
“You can also create an avenue through which you can get some feedback from the motoring public on the conducts of your operatives.
“The Unit Commanders are directed to use a model of such avenues which is the feed boxes introduced into the major motor parks, market places and state secretariat in Bauchi metropolis by the Sector Commander,” Najume directed
He, therefore, urged the Command’s intelligent operatives to leave above board and treat the memo as very urgent with a view to redeeming the battered image of the Corps in the state.
