The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has urged the Federal Government to allow the application of Sharia law to prosecute traffic offenders to stem road crashes in the country.
The FRSC sector commander in Bauchi State, Yusuf Abdullahi, made the called in an interview on Thursday in Bauchi.
Abdullahi said the extant laws guiding road crashes are not stiff enough, hence the need for introducing Sharia law into traffic rules.
The FRSC commander said the measure would instill discipline, encourage respect for traffic rules and promote safe road habits among motorists.
“Let us introduce Sharia Law into road crashes, and people will wake up. Our people are too careless, and the vehicle owners don’t bother to check them. If we don’t introduce Sharia law, many road users, especially in this area, would not start thinking twice before doing whatever they want to do,” Abdullahi explained.
He added, “The introduction of Sharia law will curtail bad behaviour, as most of the crashes are due to negative attitudes by motorists and other road users. People don’t want to take a rest. They overspeed because they want to make money.”
The FRSC commander reasoned that if the law “is introduced, by the time you are involved in a crash, it would be investigated, the guilty and his family would also be responsible for anything that happens in that vehicle.”
He pointed out that if the driver lost his life in a crash, “if found guilty, the owner of the vehicle would also be held responsible as it would be revealed that he didn’t do his homework before giving out the vehicle.”
Abdullahi admitted the extant law “is working,” but the “extent to which it works is very important because, in countries where Sharia law is being implemented, it guides attitudinal conduct to a level that even relatives and friends guide their relations in terms of what to do or not do.”
According to him, the offender is not left alone to bear the penalty, as the Sharia law equally brings in the family members.
“If stiffer penalties are being attached to road traffic crash offenders, it will go a long way to help us stem all drivers and other road users and make them drive carefully to avoid crashes,” the FRSC commander added.
Abdullahi added that the conventional law does not appeal to attitude.
“That is why the Sharia law will be better. If you look at the countries where it is being practised, it is everybody’s business because your relations and friends know that it can not be compromised,” he said.