Youths under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), on Friday, rejected moves to arm personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), insisting that the agency needs urgent reform, not rifles.

They also expressed strong opposition to any plan by the government to arm personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) under any guise.

In a statement by its NANS National Vice President for Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, Comrade Sileola Akinbodunse, Nigerian students stood firmly against the bill seeking to arm FRSC officers, which scaled second reading in October 2024.

Akinbodunse said: “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.”

NANS stated that, founded in 1988 to curb crashes and ensure safe motoring, the FRSC falters on its core mandate, adding, “In Q1 2025, 2,650 accidents claimed 1,593 lives, an 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bribe charges, yet systemic extortion siphons N50 billion yearly, fueled by poor pay (N80,000 monthly for marshals) and outdated equipment.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.”

He urged lawmakers to reject the bill and instead invest in 5,000 new FRSC vehicles, ethics and professionalism training, and digital licensing systems to strengthen road safety management.

He added, “With over 80 million Nigerian youths yearning for safety, per NBS 2025, we demand policies that humanise students and commuters, not militarise their journeys.”