Appeal Court Affirms Judgment Restricting FRSC To Only Federal Roads

THE Court of Appeal sitting in Asaba earlier today concurred with Justice E. Nwite of a Federal High Court, Warri which had earlier on the 25th day of January, 2019 held that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has no right to operate and/or carry any activity on state and local governments roads.

In Appeal No. CA/AS/276/2019: Federal Roads Safety Commission And Darlington Ugo Ehikim ESQ., the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the Federal Road Safety Commission challenging the judgment of the Federal High Court, Warri. 

Justice Nwite had while delivering judgment in the suit filed by Barrister Ehikim, a member of the Warri branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) granted all the reliefs sought, which included a declaration that the Federal Road Safety Commission has no right to operate and/or carry any activity on state and local governments roads. The trial court also issued restraining orders against the Commission from operating on roads other than federal highways and also awarded cost of N10m against the Commission.

Plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr. Kunle Edun commended both the trial and appellate courts for standing by the proper interpretation of the law and that by the judgment, FRSC personnel who are on roads inside cities and towns except federal highways, have no right to be there, as their operations on such roads, which are mainly to extort road users, are illegal. 

Kunle Edun further stated that the judgment re-emphasizes the federal structure of the country because the FRSC being a federal agency should only concern itself with federal roads.

Eighteen-Eleven Media