2,838 Lives Lost, 17,818 Rescued In Road Crashes Within 6 Months – Report

Road crashes and road crashes deaths continued to rise high in the country between 2024 and 2025, showing an increase of about 3.9 per cent and a rise in deaths by 2.2 per cent, LEADERSHIP Sunday investigations have shown.

Statistics obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) revealed that the first half of 2025 presented a tough challenge as between January and June, 5,281 road traffic crashes occurred across the country involving 39,793 people.

The statistics also showed that 2,838 lives were lost while 17,818 were rescued, representing an increase in crashes by 3.9 per cent and a rise in fatalities by 2.2 per cent.

Also, the total number of people involved in road crashes in the period under review increased by 8.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.

In the first half of 2024, out of the 36,554 passengers involved in 4,997 crashes between January and June, while 16,309 passengers were injured and rescued 2,776 persons were killed.

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For instance, in January 2024, the total number of crashes was 990, number of rescued, 3195, number of those killed in the crash, 530 and total number of people involved, 7335.

Reacting to the increase, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Shehu Mohammed, attributed the increase in road crashes and deaths to the increase in the volume of vehicles in 2025.

“It is also on record that during the same period, FRSC operatives arrested 290,887 traffic offenders for committing 319,798 offences. Meanwhile, 250,720 offenders were arrested and 271,895 offences recorded in 2024. This reflects a 16% per cent rise in arrests and 14.9 per cent increase in offences booked.

The increase in the percentage of arrests and offences does not reflect FRSC as a weakened institution. On the contrary, it affirms that the corps is more vigilant and responsive to ensuring safety through visible enforcement.

“Furthermore, in the period under review, over 30 million passengers travelled using 2.3 million vehicles across our national road network. The volume of vehicles and passengers on the roads had a correlative impact on the total number of offenders and offences booked.

It also called for more effort from our operatives to meet up with the expectations for safety by the motoring public. For instance, Anambra and Kano States alone accounted for over 6.5 million passengers representing 22 per cent of the total passenger travels. These figures clearly demonstrated that the scale of road usage was quite high with attendant pressure on the road infrastructure and on our workforce.”

Speaking on policies and activities to help reduce road crashes, the corps marshal said, “The launch of the National Crash Reporting Information System (NACRIS) and the FRSC Mobile App has been a major transformation in our operational methods. These digital tools have enhanced crash data reporting and improved public engagement. It also provided real-time access to critical safety features such as blackspot detection, emergency reporting, drivers’ license and number plate verification, as well as easy access to the National Traffic Radio from anywhere across the globe.

“In our public education efforts, we included Breakfast and Town-Hall meetings to park rallies as part of our enlightenment campaigns to boost public education and awareness. Breakfast meetings were subsequently adopted as a strategy for enhanced productivity through a cross-fertilization of ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.”

Meanwhile, some passengers who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday on why they prefer road means of transportation, have attributed it to the high cost of flight tickets.

One of the passengers, Adamu Mohammad, a businessman in Abuja, said return tickets to Lagos goes for between N300,000 and N400,000 which has become too much for him to pay.

“How can I pay such an amount just to go and buy goods in Lagos? How much will be left for my business?” he said.

Michael Ivie lamented that even though the roads are bad and there are risks of insecurity and road crashes, he had no option than to go by road while travelling due to the high cost of flight tickets.