Your Rights When Dealing With A FRSC Official In Nigeria

FRSC stands for Federal Road Safety Corps. Their mandate is to prevent or minimize accidents on the highway; clear obstructions on any part of the highways; and educate drivers, motorists and other members of the public generally on the proper use of the highways. They are also charged with the management of drivers’ licenses and vehicle number plates.

 What Are Their Powers?
- Arrest any person suspected of having committed an offence
- Remove and detain any illegally parked vehicle
- Endorse your driving licence if found guilty of offence;
- Seize the driver’s licence of any person suspected to have committed an offence and/or the documents or particulars in respect of the vehicles
- Impound a vehicle suspected to have been stolen where the driver fails to produce the particulars of the vehicle
- Declare an offender as wanted when he fails to report to answer the charge against him

Your Rights
If an FRSC official, arrests you for allegedly contravening a road traffic offence; you can either:

- Accept liability and pay the summary fine, or
- Contest the charge and ask for a trial by a court of competent jurisdiction

Making A Complaint
If you have a complaint about the conduct or activities of an FRSC official during the exercise of his/her functions, these are the steps you are to follow:

- Take note of the FRSC official’s name, it is written boldly on their uniform
- Note down the date, time and place of commission of the issue you are complaining about
- Write a covering letter detailing the nature of your complaint and what transpired
- If you have witnesses to the act complained about, have the witness write a statement as well
- Put all your contact information (and those of the witness if any) on the correspondence
- Include any additional information like pictures, videos, or documents to buttress your complaint.
- Send it through email at info@frsc.gov.ng, complaints@frsc.gov.ng, or frscsocialpages@frsc.gov.ng
- Deliver in person or by post at – Federal Road Safety Corps, National Headquarters, 3 Maputo Street., Zone 3, Wuse, Abuja, Nigeria.
- Ensure you get confirmation of receipt of your complaint
- If you do not get a response or you receive an unsatisfactory response, you may contact a lawyer and instruct them to take the matter further

Credit:
LawPadi