FRSC to appeal court verdict restricting its operations to federal roads

The Federal Road Service Corps (FRSC) says it will appeal the court verdict restricting its operations to federal roads in the country.

The agency said it has not received the certified true copies (CTC) of the court of appeal judgement delivered on Monday.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bisi Kazeem, FRSC spokesperson, said Dauda Biu, the corps marshal, has disclosed the intention of the agency to seek a stay of execution of the judgement as well as file an appeal.

“We are aware of the judgement of the court of appeal, Asaba judicial division from the briefing received from our legal representatives,” Biu was quoted in the statement.

“However, as of the moment, we are yet to obtain a certified true copy of the judgement.  As soon as we obtain the same, we would take time to look at the judgement and make an informed decision on it. Until then, we urge the public to remain calm.”

The corps marshal said the implication of the judgement as reported in the media, was that FRSC personnel would not be able to attend to or rescue crash victims on roads other than federal roads

On Monday, the court of appeal in Asaba, Delta state, affirmed the decision of the federal high court that ruled that FRSC can only operate on federal roads.

In January 2019, a federal high court in Warri ruled in favour of Darlington Ugo Ehikim, a lawyer, and granted the reliefs of the plaintiff, which include that FRSC has no legal right to carry out its operations on state and LGA roads.

The court had also issued a restraining order barring FRSC from operating on other roads aside from the federal highways.

Displeased by the ruling, FRSC approached the court of appeal to dismiss the verdict.