Exclusive Report - FRSC denies helping rice smugglers

The Federal Road Safety Corps , Badagry -Seme Command , says its officers are not aiding and abetting rice smugglers as being speculated in some quarters .
The Unit Commander , Mr Fatai Bakare , made the clarification on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Badagry , Lagos State .

According to Bakare , the operations of FRSC commences by 6 am and ends by 6 pm, except when are on special patrol which extends to 10 pm.
“ This special operation is restricted to the metropolis and not outside the metropolis because we are not armed .

“ You don ’ t expect us to be in a secluded point when we are not armed .
“ You don ’ t expect our staffers to be in a secluded point around 1 am , when bad boys , armed to the teeth move around , ” he said .
Bakare said that FRSC officials were not trained to arrest smugglers , who usually move at night at high speed , and armed with sophisticated weapons .

“ If you look at the operations of smugglers , you will notice that they move in the night and in a convoy .
“ They are very reckless when they move, ready to kill. They are armed with assorted weapons like swords, cutlasses , charms and at times gun .
“ How can you expect a non-armed organisation to arrest such vehicles and people?
“ There have been several attacks by the smugglers and other agencies which led to death .
“ Have we not been seeing obituaries in the dailies of some people from different agencies that were killed by the smugglers despite the fact that they are armed ?
“ So , what do you think will happen if our staffers make attempts to arrest them ?
“ We only restricted our programme to enlightenment; we go to Churches , Mosques, marketplaces, palaces and motor parks .
“ We use these media to pass our information across since we do not have the wherewithal to confront them on the road , ” he said .

Via Punchng