The
continued drive by the Federal Road Safety Corps to curb the activities of
scammers who since last year, had created a fake recruitment portal, as a guise
for extorting money from desperate job seekers to join the employ of the Corps,
seem to have yielded some dividends, with a 4 years’ jail term handed down to
one Ogidi Uko Ezekiel by a Magistrate sitting at Omi Adio in Lagos state.
Ezekiel,
who had been extorting money from unsuspecting young Nigerian job seekers, was
arrested at Ekiti on 6th November, 2013 following a tip off of his
involvement in fake FRSC recruitment racketeering around the South West Zone of
the Country.
He
was subsequently arraigned before the Magistrate court in Lagos, charge no:
MDD/222/2013 on a three-count charge to wit; false representation with the
intent to defraud contrary to section 484 of the criminal code, unlawful
possession of FRSC official documents contrary to section 430 of the criminal
code and obtaining money by false pretence contrary to section 419 of the criminal
code.
The
accused pleaded guilty to all the counts charged and was sentenced to 4 years
imprisonment with an option of fine of N100,000.00 by the presiding Magistrate,
Taiwo Oladiran for willfully extorting money from several members of the public
under the guise of enlisting them into the services of the Federal Road Safety
Corps.
Reacting
to the judgement, the Corps Public Education Officer, Corps Commander Jonas
Agwu commended the Nigerian judiciary for the trial, recalling an earlier
publication where the Management of the Federal Road Safety Corps
discountenanced itself from the illegal practise and advised the general public
especially, job seekers to disregard such unauthorized and mischievous
publications as the Corps was not embarking on any recruitment exercise.
For
avoidance of doubt, Agwu urged “the general public to note that the Corps has
numerous platforms for publishing its activities such as its web site, Facebook
and twitter and may wish to visit www.frsc.gov.ng, www.fb.com/
In
a related development, the National Executive Council of the Petroleum Tanker
Drivers Branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers
(NUPENG) has commended the Federal Road Safety Corps for its level of
commitment in road safety management especially during last year’s yuletide
which resulted to seamless flow of traffic road crash reduction across the
country.
According
to the National Chairman, Comrade Timothy Ogbu, “the commendation became more
imperative given all the measures taken by your men at the recent yuletide
period. We give kudos to the Commission for all its efforts during the
Christmas and the New year which was marked into very minimal mishaps”.
He
also added “ not only was the occasion hitch free with free flow of traffic,
the road safety officials ensure that virtually all the major highways across
the country were patrolled to check excesses by road users and improve sanity”.
Meanwhile,
the FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Osita Chidoka has unveiled
the Corps’ strategic goals for 2014 which includes improved supervision and
monitoring of the Corps’ activities across the country and scale up our
capacity building (training programmes) to enhance productivity and ensure
staff personal development.
Speaking
further, the Corps Marshal added “this year will witness improved regulatory
and enforcement capacity with projected target of reducing road crashes by 15%
and fatalities by 25%. Under this arrangement, massive use of the breathalyzers
will be promoted, strengthen the use of radar guns at critical corridors to
regulate speed of motorists, increased monitoring of motor parks,
implementation of the standard school bus, compulsory use of the
retro-reflective tapes and rear light by commercial vehicles, among other
corporate strategies”.
This
year will also witness improved road safety audit and motor vehicle
administration and improved public communication and road use education,
Chidoka said.
Jonas Agwu
Corps Commander
Corps Public Education
Officer
Tags
Society