By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
The Federal Capital Territory, designed for order and flow, is buckling under the weight of swelling traffic, reckless driving and organised violations, forcing the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to activate emergency enforcement measures, deploy new technology and issue a stark warning: the capital’s road crisis is no longer theoretical, it is happening in real time.
The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, sounded the alarm in Abuja while presenting the Corps’ full-year road traffic performance review, with a sharp focus on Operation Zero, the nationwide crash-reduction initiative on Wednesday while answering questions from journalists shortly after his speech during the press briefing.
What emerged was a troubling portrait of a city stretched far beyond its original design, where vandalised traffic lights, illegal night racing, fatigued interstate drivers and enforcement gaps are converging into a dangerous mix.
FRSC Boss disclosed that Abuja now carries traffic volumes far above what its infrastructure was built to absorb, creating pressure points across major corridors and inner-city routes.
“There are over 1,000 traffic lights in Abuja,” an official said. “It is impossible to mount officers on each one. That is the operational reality.”
Rather than blanket deployment, the Corps said it has shifted to intelligence-driven enforcement launching focused operations against traffic light violations, pulling back to reassess, then returning with recalibrated tactics.
“This is not withdrawal,” the official stressed. “It is a deliberate strategy.”
In a decisive operational shift, FRSC has begun deploying electric motorcycles across the FCT, particularly around the airport corridor and other high-traffic zones.
The bikes, operated by specially trained officers, are designed for rapid response, pursuit and enforcement in congested areas where patrol vehicles are ineffective.
The goal: cut off dispatch riders, traffic-light runners and repeat offenders who exploit gridlock to evade arrest.
Illegal street racing, largely driven by young motorists has not stopped, the Corps Marshal admitted.
Instead, it has slipped into residential streets and late-night hours, when visibility is low and patrol presence is thinner.
To counter this, FRSC is calling on residents to actively report dangerous driving through its 122 emergency line, enabling real-time deployment.
“We cannot be everywhere,” the Corps said. “But with citizens, we can be everywhere.”
While acknowledging poor road conditions in parts of the FCT, FRSC was emphatic that human behaviour remains the leading cause of crashes.
“There are three factors in every crash the road, the vehicle and the human being,” an official explained. “But the human is the controller.”
The Corps said it routinely submits hazard reports to relevant road and infrastructure agencies many of which respond but warned that no amount of asphalt or signage can compensate for recklessness.
FRSC revealed that its public enlightenment drive has been restructured along regional lines, based on literacy levels, driver behaviour and exposure risk.
North-West and North-Central zones, where a large percentage of commercial drivers originate, are being targeted with radio-based household safety programmes.
South-West and South-East zones, with higher literacy levels, receive tailored messaging focused on compliance and behaviour reinforcement.
“Driving culture anywhere reflects education, enforcement and quality of life,” the Corps noted.
In one of its strongest public appeals yet, FRSC urged families to stop treating travel safety as someone else’s responsibility.
“Talk to your son. Challenge the driver. Refuse reckless trips,” an official said.
“Silence kills.”
Explaining persistent crash spikes in Kaduna State, FRSC Boss described it as a major transit gateway, funneling traffic from the North-West, North-East, Plateau, Kano, Sokoto and Abuja.
Many drivers, already exhausted from overnight journeys, enter Kaduna at peak fatigue levels often with catastrophic consequences.
The Corps said it is now pushing fleet operators to enforce mandatory rest periods while coordinating with other security agencies to keep corridors open and prevent traffic pile-ups during incidents.
FRSC confirmed that emergency response times in several hotspots have dropped to under 10 minutes, helping to save lives. But officials warned that rescue alone cannot win the battle.
“Crashes are happening faster than sympathy,” one officer said.
“Prevention must come first.”
As Abuja’s population surges, traffic thickens and night-time recklessness spreads, FRSC says the path forward is clear and unforgiving.
“This is no longer about intention,” the Corps warned.
“It is about the problem. And everyone has a role in solving it.”
