NEWS
MURIC Backs FRSC Anti-Bus Preaching Bill, Says Practice Endangers Lives and Public Peace
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has thrown its weight behind the proposed Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) bill seeking to prohibit preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles, arguing that the practice poses a serious safety risk and could trigger disturbances among passengers.
The rights group made its position known while reacting to the proposed anti-bus preaching legislation currently before the National Assembly.
The FRSC had introduced the bill as part of efforts to improve road safety and ensure greater orderliness in commercial transportation across the country. The proposed legislation seeks to ban both preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles, practices the agency believes can interfere with safe driving and the comfort of passengers.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC described the proposed legislation as a timely and commendable initiative, insisting that it deserves the full support of Nigerians and lawmakers.
According to Akintola, the organisation is in total support of the bill, stressing that once enacted into law, it would help restore decorum and discipline inside commercial vehicles while reducing avoidable road accidents.
He explained that MURIC’s support for the FRSC proposal is based on two key concerns. First, he said preaching inside buses can distract drivers, increasing the likelihood of road crashes. Secondly, he argued that such activities have the potential to provoke disagreements among passengers and could result in a breach of public peace.
The MURIC Executive Director also appealed to members of the National Assembly to expedite legislative action on the bill to ensure its speedy passage into law.
“This is a step in the right direction. With emphasis on bus preaching, we commend FRSC for this proactiveness. The whole idea is not only visionary but also precautionary and constructive. Preaching inside the bus is most uncivilized and discourteous.
“We support the FRSC bill for two main reasons. Bus preaching distracts drivers thereby leading to accidents with the attendant deaths and injuries.
“Secondly, bus preaching constitutes conduct likely to cause breach of public peace. Our lawmakers need to urgently attend to the FRSC bill in view of the high proliferation of road crashes in the country,” parts of the statement read.
If passed into law, the proposed legislation is expected to introduce new regulations governing activities inside commercial vehicles as authorities continue to pursue measures aimed at enhancing road safety and reducing the country’s growing number of traffic accidents.