Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has hinted that 3,433 persons were killed and 22,162 others injured in 6,858 reported road crashes in the past nine months.
The corps marshal of FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, revealed this at the flag-off of the 2025 Ember Months Public Enlightenment and Sensitisation Campaign in Abuja.
Mohammed said the major causes of the crashes were driver fatigue, overloading of persons, conveyance of persons in haulage vehicles and travelling with fuel in plastic containers.
On the campaign, he said, “The Ember months campaign is a yearly tradition through which the Federal Road Safety Corps intensifies its advocacy and public awareness on the need for safer road use. As we are all aware, the ember months are a season marked by increased travel, higher traffic volume and an attendant rise in road crash injuries and fatalities.
“The theme reinforces the view that human factors are one of the major causes of road crashes. It also draws attention to the fact that drivers are largely responsible for crashes on our highways. Apparently, driver behaviour is a fundamental element in determining safety on our highways.
“It is expected that the 2025 end-of-year campaign will create the needed awareness and sensitisation for drivers to take up the issue of safety more seriously.
“Therefore, the choice of the 2025 End-of-Year campaign theme, ‘Taking Responsibility for Your Safety’ was deliberate and well thought-out.
“It was carefully chosen to address road traffic infringements by drivers, which were largely responsible for the previous road crash records,” Mohammed said.
He added that 2024 “Operation Zero”, which was between December 15, 2024 to January 15, 2025, showed a decrease in the number of deaths recorded.
According to him, 432 persons were killed; 2,070 persons were injured of the 533 reported cases of road crashes during that period.