Falana says victims should be compensated – TheNigerialawyer

Mr Femi Falana, (SAN) says he is ready to go to court in defence
of any victim that was involved in the recent tanker fire incident
at Sango-Ota in Ogun, or their willing family members.

Falana spoke on Wednesday at the Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC) Zone 2 4th Quarter 2019 retreat held at Public Staff
Development Centre (PSSDC) Magodo, Lagos.

According to him, somebody must be responsible for any traffic
crash on the the road.

Recall that two persons died and six others were injured in a
fire accident involving a petrol tanker close to the old toll gate
at Sango-Ota, Ogun State on Thursday night.

Seventeen vehicles were burnt in the accident that happened
around 11.55 pm, according to the FRSC Assistant Corps Commander in
Ota, Mr Ganiyu Akeem.

Falana said he was ready to go to court to seek compensation for
victims who lost their vehicles and the families of the dead
victims Pro Bono.

“That is the whole essence of insurance; they must be
compensated, so that we don’t turn their families to beggars on the
streets.

“The case must be pursued, we must put smiles on peoples face,”
he said.

Falana also tasked the FRSC to always get the authority involved
to fix dilapidated roads to prevent future occurrence of such
disaster.

According to him, the corps should not only check the road
worthiness of vehicles, but also identify roads that are bad and
channel the reports to appropriate agencies for rehabilitation.

“The corps must also ensure the reports of bad roads are
constantly channelled to Ministry of Works.

‘The life span of every road is four years, FRSC must ensure
both the federal and state government do their responsibilities as
the case may be on road rehabilitation,” he said.

Falana also charged the FRSC to always discharge its duties in
line with the law.

“Ignore big men who threaten you on the highways by making calls
when they are arrested, do your work in line with the enabling law,
always keep your record of any incident and shun briber; then,
we’ll be there to defend you,” said.

Mr Samuel Obayemi, the FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer in Charge
of Ogun and Lagos States, earlier in his address, said that the
corps had done well in terms of patrol operations in the zone.

Obayemi said that the corps was also trying to improve on its
service delivery despite many cases of assault by members of the
public against its officials.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fourth quarter
retreat involved Unit Commanders in both Ogun and Lagos States.

(NAN)