RE: Increasing Incidences of Assault and Obstruction on Marshals on Duty by Unscrupulous Road Traffic Offenders.
It has come to the notice of the management the increasing obstruction of duties in different forms and tactics by some erring Traffic offenders. Some stripped themselves naked, some will lie under patrol cars, some will even kneel in front of a patrol car while some will lift an arresting officer or Marshal on the bonnet. It is observed that all this is to whip up sentiment to pervert justice and evade arrest. The irony of it, is that sometimes such acts are recorded, edited and sent to social media proclaiming personnel as wicked, brutish and savage .
With the act on the increase, it is pertinent for patrol operatives to be cautious, change tactics and use the 4 approach system of FRSC namely Education, Persuasion, Subtle Force and Enforcement while Commanding Officers ensures Offenders Education is mandatory and issues of obstructing and assaulting Marshal is on the front burner in such fora. Our public perception in the heat of all these social media stunts is nose diving, hence the need to nip in the bud.
Commands should also endeavour to intensify the engagement of stakeholders, especially, transport unions on the need for collaboration, respect for law enforcement agents and mutual conflict resolution strategies that would give the union leaders opportunity to discuss with commanding officers on any of their members’ grievances with a view to resolving same. Union leaders should therefore be advised to caution their members on this growing trend of assault and obstruction of marshals on duty, the legal implications and the opportunity offered for amicable resolution through mediation between the Corps and the Unions on behalf of their members instead of taking laws into their hands with ominous legal and criminal implications.
The Corps operatives should also learn to be civil in their approach while being cautious and sensitive to any perceived operational threats within their operating environment.
We must all do our best to redeem the image of the Corps that is increasingly dwindling and getting the Federal Government worried by the day. All hands must therefore be on deck
ACM Bisi Kazeem
Corps Public Education Officer
for Corps Marshal
FRSC
