411 Nigerians died scooping fuel in 2024 — FRSC

411 Nigerians died scooping fuel in 2024 — FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) arrested approximately 21,580 traffic offenders between January and December 2024 across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This revelation came as the FRSC also disclosed that 411 individuals lost their lives while attempting to scoop fuel from fallen tankers in 2024 nationwide.

Speaking on the 2024 special patrol operations during a media briefing on Monday in Abuja, FRSC Corps Marshal Malam Shehu Mohammed told PulseNets about a noticeable decline in traffic offences compared to the previous year. According to him, the number of offenders reduced from 29,220 in 2023 to 21,580 in 2024.

“This signifies a 26 per cent increase in compliance to traffic rules and regulations,” Mohammed explained.

The Corps Marshal also reported that the total number of traffic law violations stood at 25,942, marking a 23.5 per cent reduction compared to the same period in 2023. He noted that the analysis of the FRSC’s annual performance showed a significant decrease in Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs).

Mohammed further spoke to PulseNets, stating that 9,570 RTCs were recorded nationwide between January 1 and December 31, 2024. This represents a 10 per cent reduction from the 10,617 crashes reported in 2023.

Regarding injuries, PulseNets learnt that 31,154 people sustained injuries in 2024 compared to 31,874 in 2023, indicating a slight two per cent decrease. However, fatalities saw a seven per cent increase, with 5,421 lives lost in 2024 compared to 5,081 in 2023.

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The FRSC Corps Marshal highlighted that 411 deaths, accounting for 7.6 per cent of total fatalities in 2024, were caused by incidents related to fuel scooping rather than traffic crashes. Mohammed described this as a “secondary factor” and emphasized the Corps’ ongoing battle against such dangerous practices.

He told PulseNets, “Without the casualties recorded from scooping fuel from crashed tankers, the Corps would have recorded 5,010 deaths in 2024.”