*Says FRSC should also apply Canon and Customary traffic laws:
The suggestion by the sector commander, federal Road Safety Corps in Bauchi State, Mr. Yusuf Abdullahi, that the agency will include Sharia law in the prosecution of traffic offenders, has been described as provocative, vexations and unconstitutional just as the Federal Road Safety Corps has been warned not to drag the nation into religious skirmishes.
It was reported that in a bid to stem the spate of road crashes in the country, the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps in Bauchi State, Mr. Yusuf Abdullahi, had called for the inclusion of Sharia Law in the prosecution of traffic offenders.
Abdullahi made the call during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Bauchi.
According to him, the laws guiding road crashes are not stringent enough, hence the need for introduction of stiffer laws such as the Sharia Law into traffic rules even as he said as follows: “Let us introduce Sharia Law into road crashes, and people will wake up. Our people are too careless, and the vehicle owners don’t bother to check them. “If we don’t introduce Sharia Law, many road users, especially in this area, would not start thinking twice before doing whatever they want to do. “The introduction of Sharia Law will curtail bad behavior, as most of the crashes are due to negative attitudes by motorists and other road users. “People don’t want to take a rest; they go over speed because they want to make money.
The controversial Bauchi State sector Commander said also that: “If the law is introduced, by the time you are involved in a crash, it would be investigated; the guilty and his family would also be responsible for anything that happens in that vehicle. “In a situation where the driver lost his life in a crash, if found guilty, the owner of the vehicle would also be held responsible as it would be revealed that he didn’t do his homework before giving out the vehicle. “The extant law is working, however, the extent to which it works is very important because in countries where Sharia Law is being implemented, it guides attitudinal conduct to a level that even relatives and friends guide their relations in terms of what to do or not do,” he said”.
Opposing the suggestion which it said was aimed at sparking a nation-wide religious discord, HURIWA said the proposal offends section 10 of the Nigerian constitution which prohibits the elevation of any religion as a state religion thus: “section 10; The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion”.
Besides HURIWA reminded the FRSC that such a divisive suggestion would offend section 42 (1) which affirmed as follows: 42 (1) A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person.
In a media statement in which HURIWA asked Road Safety Commission Corp Marshall to caution his subordinate to perish that offensive plot to Islamize that public transportation safety body in a multireligious Country like Nigeria, the Rights group said if Shariah law is introduced by the FRSC, it therefore follows that both the Customary Law and the Canon Law would have to be applied also against traffic offenders since Nigeria can’t be turned surreptitiously into an Islamic Republic by subterfuge.
