The Federal Road Safety Corps has washed its hands off the road accident that occurred on February 1, 2020 in Ogbomoso, the Osun State capital, for which it has been receiving blame, especially on social media.

The crash involved a Toyota Hiace with registration number (AA 396 RBC) and an unregistered (Jincheng) motorcycle overloaded with three pillions whose video lately dominated the social media.

According to FRSC Public Education Officer, Corps Commander Bisi Kazeem, “When the news of the crash first came to the knowledge of the Corps, the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, immediately directed the constitution of an investigative panel to ascertain the true cause and severity of the crash.

“The summary of the investigation is that the patrol team alleged to have caused the crash did not at any time chase after the vehicle; neither did they chase the bike in question. The point is, and still remains that the team was actually detailed on patrol operations on that route on the day of the unfortunate incident, carrying out their legitimate duty until an emergency call came through from a senior staff of Parrot FM who reported a lone crash that had occurred along Ogbomoso-Odo Oba road involving a tanker that fell on the highway.

“Being an organisation that places much value to saving lives and creating a safer motoring environment and as part of its corporate obligation to respond to crashes within five minutes, the team immediately rushed down to the crash scene to carry out rescue services.

“While on their way to the crash scene, they met a crash in which they eventually evacuated two critically injured persons to the hospital while leaving one of our personnel to ensure the safety of the vehicle and properties therein with a lone corpse from the crash.

“While it is gratifying to stateclearlyat this point that the Corps is deeply saddened over the unfortunate incident, especially the attendant loss of lives and damage to properties that the crash brought upon the innocent victims and their families. It is pertinent to note that the Federal Road Safety Corps is not in the practice of chasing after vehicles as the Corps has its professional ethics guiding the conduct of its personnel on patrol operations.”

Continuing, Kazeem said in a statement issued on Sunday: “For emphasis, the Corps is still committed to achieving its corporate mandate of eradicating road traffic crashes and creating a safer motoring environment in compliance with global best practices and rules of engagement. As such members of the public are called to always hearken to established traffic laws and obey law enforcement agents on the road and stop attacking them each time they are on emergency rescue.

“As a Corps, we are unrepentantly committed to entrenching safety on our roads through applicable safety standards and will admonish the general public to always see what they can do to contribute to save lives on our roads rather than engage in destructive criticism.”