FRSC Takes Safety Campaign to Borno, Seeks Better Results

In a state where the battle for survival has for years extended beyond the highways into communities affected by insecurity, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Zone 12, has renewed its commitment to protecting lives on the roads of Borno, with its Zonal Commanding Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Leye Adegboyega, fsi, challenging officers to make every patrol count and every intervention produce measurable results.

The charge came during the Zonal Commanding Officer’s Third Quarter Working Visit to the Borno Sector Command, Maiduguri, on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 1–2, 2026, as part of his continuing supervisory and monitoring visits to Commands under Zone 12, comprising Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe States.

The visit was not simply an inspection.
It was a journey into the realities confronting FRSC personnel on the frontline — a journey that took the Zonal Commanding Officer from the Benesheik Unit Command, where officers operate under severe security and logistical constraints, to the Borno Sector Command in Maiduguri, where he reviewed performance, challenged shortcomings, commended achievements, and demanded a renewed commitment to the Corps’ humanitarian mission.

On Tuesday, September 1, ACM Adegboyega, accompanied by the Zonal Protocol Officer, SRC E.K. John, stopped at the Benesheik Unit Command on his way to Maiduguri.

Received by the Unit Commander, CRC Musa Danladi, at about 8:45 a.m., the Zonal Commanding Officer inspected the office facilities and environment and was confronted with a stark picture of the realities under which some FRSC personnel perform their duties.

The Command operates in a difficult security environment. There is no bank and no Point-of-Sale facility within the immediate area for offenders to pay fines. Personnel, faced with security threats, sometimes sleep within the office premises rather than risk travelling at night.

Eight Local Government Station Officers under the Unit Command now report to the Unit because their respective areas cannot be safely accessed as a result of insurgency. Even the handling of revenue presents logistical difficulties, with monies collected having to be kept securely until they can be paid into a bank in Maiduguri or Damaturu.

It was a deeply sobering reality.
Yet, despite these difficulties, officers and marshals continue to perform their duties.

ACM Adegboyega commended the personnel for their courage, commitment, and determination to remain at their duty posts despite the peculiar challenges confronting them.

For the ZCO, the condition of the operating environment only makes the responsibility of leadership more compelling — to support personnel, identify their challenges, strengthen operational capacity, and ensure that no officer is left to confront difficult circumstances alone.

The following morning, Wednesday, September 2, the Zonal Commanding Officer arrived at the Borno Sector Command at about 9:05 a.m., where he was received with full honours through the inspection of a Quarter Guard.

The Sector Commander, CC Usman A. Muhammad, formally introduced the Principal Officers, Component Commanding Officers, Heads of Departments, and Special Marshals before the ZCO proceeded to the In-House Lecture Hall for an interactive engagement with officers and marshals.

He described the quarterly engagement as more than a routine inspection, but as a morale booster, strategic evaluation, and opportunity to rekindle the shared commitment to making Nigerian roads safer.

He acknowledged the guidance and support of the Zonal Command under ACM Adegboyega, noting its positive influence on enforcement, enlightenment, and rescue operations in Borno.

The Borno Sector Command was able to point to several operational achievements during the quarter.
These included intensified enforcement against speed-limit violations, overloading, and under-aged driving; public enlightenment programmes in schools, motor parks, and Internally Displaced Persons’ camps; improved emergency response through stronger synergy with sister agencies; and sustained attention to staff welfare and discipline.

The Sector Commander assured the Zonal Commanding Officer that the personnel of Borno remained resilient, professional, and committed to the FRSC mantra of saving lives and making roads safe.

But ACM Adegboyega was not in Maiduguri merely to applaud.
He was there to examine the numbers, interrogate the gaps, and demand improvement.

In a frank assessment of the recently presented performance ratings from the Corps Marshal’s strategic session, the Zonal Commanding Officer expressed dissatisfaction with the overall ranking of Borno Sector Command.
The Command was ranked 36th, with an overall score of 18.5 per cent.

However, the assessment also revealed areas of strength. Borno performed relatively well in capacity building, including in-house lectures, workshops, seminars, symposia, and retreats, where it ranked 13th. It also recorded full compliance in alignment with the Service’s Operations Manual, Standard Operating Procedures, and Road Safety Headquarters directives, ranking 25th in that area.

The sector’s weaknesses, however, were clear. Traffic management, monitoring, creativity and innovation, resource management, and accomplishment of strategic initiatives required urgent attention.

ACM Adegboyega therefore directed the Sector Command to focus deliberately on these areas and develop practical interventions capable of producing measurable improvement.

Even the security challenges, he stressed, must not become a reason for abandoning supervision.
Where physical monitoring may be difficult, technology must be deployed.
The ZCO directed the Command to explore platforms such as Zoom for remote monitoring and ensure that reports are regularly forwarded to the Zonal Command.

A review of the Week 35 operational performance revealed that Borno Sector Command emerged as the highest operationally performing Sector Command within Zone 12, recording 179 offenders and an operational average of 4.26 bookings per shift — the best sector performance within the Zone for that period.

At the broader Sector and Component Command level, Borno recorded 460 bookings at 2.99 bookings per shift, placing second in the rating.

The best-performing Unit Commands included Potiskum, Baimari, and Azare, with 4.71, 3.64, and 3.57 bookings per shift respectively.

But the ZCO also identified a worrying decline in the performance of previously high-flying Units, particularly Biu, Mafa, and Dikwa, whose operational outputs had diminished in recent times.
He also expressed concern over the low operational performance of Askira-Uba and Hawul Unit Commands, directing their Commanding Officers to urgently review their strategies and intensify enforcement.

For ACM Adegboyega, the figures were not merely numbers on a spreadsheet.
They were indicators of whether the Corps was reaching the people who needed it most.

Perhaps the strongest operational message from the visit was the ZCO’s insistence that enforcement must have a purpose.

The objective, he stressed, is not to generate statistics simply for the sake of statistics. Rather, enforcement must target offences and behaviours directly connected with road traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries. Crash-prone locations must receive greater attention.
Overloading, mixed loading, and other unsafe practices must be confronted.

Patrol teams must remain visible at high-risk locations, junctions, markets, and other areas where lives are particularly vulnerable, and enforcement must be carried out professionally and safely.

The ZCO specifically warned patrol personnel against pursuing fleeing offenders where such pursuit could expose officers and members of the public to unnecessary danger.
No offender is worth the life of an FRSC officer — or the life of an innocent road user.

He reiterated the Corps Marshal’s directives against extortion, intimidation, harassment, illegal roadblocks, and other unethical practices.

Personnel were reminded that the FRSC uniform is more than clothing.
It represents the authority of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and carries with it the trust of the public. That trust, he stressed, must never be compromised.

Officers were therefore directed to maintain professionalism, discipline, integrity, and respect for the rule of law in every interaction with members of the public.

He also warned against job racketeering, exploitation of unsuspecting members of the public under the guise of recruitment, unauthorised financial collections, and conduct online or offline capable of bringing the Corps into disrepute.

The Zonal Commanding Officer also addressed complaints reportedly emanating from personnel concerning administrative issues within the Sector Command.

While acknowledging that complaints and grievances may arise in any organisation, he cautioned personnel against rumour mongering and the circulation of unverified information.

He urged staff to direct legitimate complaints through appropriate channels for resolution rather than engage in activities capable of damaging the reputation of their Commanding Officers, colleagues, or the Corps.

ACM Adegboyega equally challenged Commanding Officers to become mentors.

He directed them to carry their subordinates along in administration and operations, delegate responsibilities, build confidence, and deliberately develop the competence and leadership qualities of younger personnel.

Outstanding personnel, he said, should be identified, motivated, and rewarded to encourage productivity and healthy competition.

For the ZCO, an organisation becomes stronger when knowledge is transferred and leadership is reproduced.
The future of the Corps, therefore, must not depend solely on today’s leaders.

The visit also provided an opportunity for ACM Adegboyega to introduce personnel to _Safety Chronicles_, the maiden magazine of Zone 12, launched and publicly presented in Bauchi on Thursday, August 27, 2026.

The publication was conceived as a platform for road safety education, policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, documentation of success stories, and dissemination of life-saving information.

It brings together contemporary road safety issues, expert perspectives, stakeholder interviews, safety tips, and public enlightenment materials designed to reach motorists, passengers, students, transport operators, policymakers, community leaders, and the wider public.

The ZCO assured that copies would be distributed across Zone 12 and relevant government institutions.

In doing so, the Zone is extending its safety campaign beyond patrol vehicles and enforcement points and into the hands and homes of the people.

He urged officers and marshals to take their health seriously and undergo regular medical check-ups for early detection of health challenges.
He also called for effective maintenance of patrol and operational vehicles.

He raised concern over the damaged ceiling in the Sector Command hall, noting that his directive from the previous quarter had not been implemented.

The facility, requiring approximately 10 roofing sheets for repair, was ordered to be fixed immediately for the comfort and safety of personnel.

The Sector Commander assured the ZCO that the repairs would be completed within one week.

For ACM Adegboyega, welfare is not a luxury. A personnel who is expected to save lives must also be given a safe and functional environment in which to work.

The Zonal Commanding Officer congratulated newly promoted personnel, reminding them that promotion is not simply an elevation in rank but an elevation in responsibility.
He urged them to justify the confidence placed in them by the Corps Marshal and Management through greater discipline, professionalism, integrity, and performance.

For those who were not promoted, he offered a message of encouragement, saying: “Promotion is a continuous process.”

They should remain focused, disciplined, and committed rather than allow disappointment to weaken their dedication to service.

At the close of the visit, the message from the Zonal Commanding Officer resonated far beyond the walls of the Borno Sector Command.

He reminded personnel that the statutory responsibilities of the FRSC — traffic regulation, crash prevention, rescue operations, driver licensing, and public enlightenment — ultimately converge on one objective, which is the preservation of human life.

The Special Marshals, through their State Coordinator, reaffirmed their loyalty, discipline, and commitment to supporting the Corps’ vision of reducing road traffic crashes.

The interactive session provided further opportunity for officers to seek clarification, share experiences, and strengthen communication between the Zonal and Sector Commands.

The Third Quarter Working Visit to Borno was therefore more than a supervisory exercise.

It was a leadership intervention, an operational audit, a morale booster, a reminder of responsibility, and perhaps most importantly, it was a renewed declaration that even in the face of insecurity, logistical constraints, and operational difficulties, the mission to save lives must continue.

For ACM Leye Adegboyega, leadership means confronting weaknesses without destroying morale, celebrating excellence without overlooking shortcomings, and demanding accountability while understanding the realities confronting personnel.

His message to Borno is therefore both firm and hopeful: Do more. Do it better. Do it professionally. Do it safely. And make every operation count.
And every life saved by an FRSC officer is a victory that cannot be measured by statistics alone.

As Zone 12 continues its march towards the FRSC’s vision of a safer motoring environment and zero road traffic deaths, the determination coming out of Maiduguri is unmistakable: The road may be difficult. The challenges may be enormous. But the commitment to saving lives must remain unshaken.