Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to work out modalities for imposing a ban on night travel across the country in view of safety hazards it posed.
Commenting on recent incidence where 14 passengers of a luxury bus were reportedly crushed to death during an armed robbery attack along the Okene-Lokoja road on Tuesday, the party sought a working agreement with the luxury bus owners to put the call to action.
In a statement issued yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN said that suspending such journeys might be necessary to save the precious lives which were being lost frequently in similar armed robberies.
ACN said that though FRSC had been urging travellers against night trips in view of safety concerns, “It may be necessary for the organisation to go a step further by working with the commuter bus operators to stop night travels until there is adequate security on the roads.”
The party also condemned the armed robbery attack on a bank in Ilesa where explosives were used to blow up a bank thereby forcing other banks in the town to close shop.
Appraising the situation, Mohammed wrote, ‘’These are just a few recent cases in a series of armed attacks against ordinary Nigerians across the country. No government worth its salt will sit back and allow armed gangs to take over its roads and towns, as if we are living in a failed state.’’
Kogi State Governor Ibrahim Idris was lauded by the party for promptly visiting the survivors of the attack in the hospital, and for offering to foot the bill for their treatment, saying “Such show of concern by people in positions of authority could be a soothing balm at times like this”.