National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has expressed strong opposition to any plan by the government to arm personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) under any guise.

Comrade Sileola Akinbodunse, National Vice President, Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, NANS, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said Nigerian students have rejected the bill seeking to arm FRSC officers.

“The past decade has reshaped the world with unprecedented change, from digital leaps to security crises. Nigeria, Africa’s heartbeat, is no exception.

“Our socio-political terrain has shifted dramatically, leaving highways, once plagued by banditry, now battlegrounds for kidnapping and terrorism, with 1,200 lives lost in 2024 alone, according to FRSC.

“As students navigating these perilous routes, NANS rejects the bill to arm the Federal Road Safety Corps, which scaled second reading in October 2024, as a reckless misstep that endangers commuters,” Akinbodunse stated.

NANS stated that, founded in 1988 to curb crashes and ensure safe motoring, the FRSC falters on its core mandate. “In Q1 2025, 2,650 accidents claimed 1,593 lives, a 8.3% surge from 2024, exposing systemic failures in enforcement and infrastructure.

“Arming an agency struggling with basic duties, like issuing driver’s licenses delayed for months (40,000 pending in Abia State alone), defies logic and global best practices.

“The FRSC’s plea for guns ignores deeper rot: bribery and unprofessionalism. In 2025, 563 drivers faced bribe charges, yet systemic extortion siphons N50 billion yearly, fueled by poor pay (N80,000 monthly for marshals) and outdated equipment. Arming such a force risks replicating police excesses with over 1,000 extrajudicial killings since 2020 and further eroding public trust,” NANS stated.

The student body emphasized that Nigeria’s roads need reform, not rifles. We urge lawmakers to halt this bill and invest in 5,000 new FRSC vehicles, ethics training, and digital licensing systems.

“With over 80 million Nigerian youths yearning for safety, per NBS 2025, we demand policies that humanize students and commuters, not militarize their journeys,” the statement added. (Nigerian Tribune)