Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola has proposed training for judges to enhance their adjudication in road accidents cases in courts.
Justice Ariwoola said this, as part of efforts at tackling the recklessness of most Nigerian drivers as well as finding justice for victims of road crashes as well as their dependents.
The acting CJN spoke at the 11th edition of the Kwapda’as Samson Rangna’am Dongban (KRSD) Annual Road Safety programme in Abuja.
The programme was aimed at sensitizing Nigerians on the need to adhere to safety policies and guidelines on Nigerian roads.
“My concern here is the training of judicial officers on issues pertaining to road safety bearing in mind the effect of road crashes cases and victims, especially on family and dependents,” he said.
The CJN disclosed that modalities would immediately be put in place for the National Judicial Institute (NJI) to commence the training which would be done in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
While recalling how he lost an aide, the CJN advised the public to always come to the aid of road crash victims, stressing that, “if immediate care was provided many victims would not have died”.
Earlier, the founder of KRSD Foundation and president, Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, while referring to a recent report stated that, the socio-economic impacts of road crashes and related injuries are not only harming Africa’s development but also affecting the livelihood of countless African families, especially in Nigeria.
“It is estimated that in Nigeria, more than 6,000 people die from road traffic crashes and many sustain serious injuries. According to the statistics provided by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), every four hours, no fewer than two people die on Nigerian roads,” she said.
Dongban-Mensem, who lost a son to road accident some years back however, argued that road safety is not for the government alone to pursue and called for support from individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“The contributions of NGOs, Private and Corporate Organsations towards achieving the goal of reducing road safety deaths and serious injuries is very important”, she said.
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