My encounter on Monday 17th Feb. 2020 with the members of the Nigeria Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) at Utako, Abuja -By Chuka Okoye

I was heading to Jabi from Wuse zone 5 for a meeting at about 1:31pm with my driver.

We were waiting at a traffic light for our turn to go along Obafemi Awolowo Way (after Berger roundabout, heading into Utoko).

There are other vehicles around us, just as you would expect at that time of the day on that road.

I could also notice an FRSC vehicle parked on the road side, about 10 meters from us.

It was also an extremely bright sunny day.

About a minute into to stop, 2 FRSC men approached my driver, instructed him to roll down his window so they could speak to him.

They asked him and I quote “Why were you operating your phone while driving”

In a mix of amazement and confusion, I called their attention and told them my driver was never on his phone, that as a matter of fact, he would never do that, not even when am in the vehicle.

When they insisted, I wondered and enquired how they were able to know with certainty that he was using his phone since my car is heavily tinted and they were on the road side, far from us with other vehicles in between.

The men insisted that my driver was on the phone, then got into the car (forcefully) and asked my driver to drive into the opposite lane (ignoring all traffic rules).

After a few seconds drive, they asked him to pull over (almost running us into a bus negotiating into the traffic) and they continued on about with their accusations.

They asked him to unlock his phone so they can prove he was using the phone.

When my driver unlocked his phone, all they did was open his contact and told me to look… that he was making a call (am still not sure how opening someone’s contact on a smart phone provides the point)

After several more minutes of arguing, they asked for his license and particulars, which he presented.

Upon seeing all his papers are in order , they asked him to come down from the vehicle and “swear by the tires of the vehicle that he was not operating his phone”

At this point, it was obvious to me that these men are up to something so I started recording the unfolding event on my phone.

As an eye witness, I bore witness to the fact that he wasn’t operating his phone, which they disregarded.

They failed to provide any evidence, instead, they kept insisting that he should “swear by the tires of the vehicle” that he wasn’t operating his phone.

When I realized these men weren’t ready to charge him with anything, I called my lawyer to seek legal advise… Realizing that I was on the phone with my lawyer, they all to get into their vehicle and drove away with neither a charge, corrective measure nor an arrest.

As you can see evident in the video, they were unprofessional in their conduct and above all, they tried to blackmail my driver and delayed my movement unnecessary for more than 15 minutes, resulting in my missing my appointment.