Court of Appeal rules that FRSC’s jurisdiction is limited to Federal roads

The Court of Appeal in Asaba, Delta State has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in Warri, which stated that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) can only operate on federal roads. The appeal filed by the FRSC challenging the Federal High Court’s ruling was dismissed by the panel of the Court of Appeal.

The Federal High Court had previously granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff, a member of the NBA Warri, which included a declaration that the FRSC has no authority to operate on state and local government roads. The court also issued restraining orders against the FRSC from conducting activities on non-federal highways and awarded a cost of N10 million against the commission.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr. Kunle Edun, praised both the trial and appellate courts for their adherence to the correct interpretation of the law. He emphasized that the judgment confirms that FRSC personnel have no right to be on roads within cities and towns, except for federal highways, as their operations on such roads, primarily intended to extort road users, are illegal.

Edun further emphasized that the judgment reinforces the federal structure of the country since the FRSC, as a federal agency, should solely focus on federal roads.