Why I remained silent while being assaulted by female passenger – FRSC official

Assistant Road Marshal Habib Sayidi, an officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), has shared insights into his calm demeanor during a widely circulated incident where he was assaulted by a female passenger.

Speaking on Wednesday in Lagos at an event organized by the FRSC Lagos Sector Command, Sayidi attributed his composure to the upbringing instilled by his parents. The event was held to commend his professionalism and restraint while performing his duties.

The incident, which occurred on December 7, involved a passenger of a Toyota Corolla vehicle that was impounded by the FRSC for having expired vehicle papers since December 2022. In a video that went viral, the passenger was seen hitting Sayidi repeatedly while he refrained from retaliating.

Sayidi explained his actions, saying, “The patience I exhibited during the assault was a reflection of the values my parents instilled in me. I am grateful for the support and recognition from the FRSC for handling the situation professionally.”

“My father always tells me that in any situation I find myself, I should be patient, and that was why I did not respond when the woman was hitting me.

”I am so happy with the commendation letter I got from the sector commander,” he said.

Corps Commander Kehinde Hamzat, of the FRSC Lagos Sector Command, at the event, said that the command was presenting Sayidi with a letter of commendation for his exemplary behaviour.

Hamzat said that the Chief Route Commander, Abdullahi Mohammad, Unit Commander, FRSC Lekki command, also received a commendation letter for ensuring order during the altercation.

He said that officers, as public servants, meet people with different mentalities on the road, the good, bad, and ugly.

According to him, arresting people has to do with force, and they have to gauge the amount used so that it will not be seen as abusing the human rights of road users.

“Hence, we always advise officers to show a high level of resilience and put on the canopy of professionalism to achieve the core value of the corps.

“We cannot continue to reciprocate the abusive nature of members of the public, knowing that we are serving them, but serving them does not mean we should be abused in the way and manner that young man was.

“The public should know that we are human; we are recruited from members of the community; it is just the training that we received that made us to be resilient,” he said.

Hamzat advised the motoring public that officers and men of the road safety are there to ensure their safety, that of lives and property, hence they should not molest and intimidate them while they carry out their lawful duties.

He noted that road safety of yesterday was completely different from what is obtained now; hence, they would go all out to deal within the ambit of the law with people who violate road traffic rules or molest their staff.

“It is not acceptable, uncalled for, and does not sit well with us, and we will use every means to resist abuse against our men,” he said.

Also commenting, Mr Patrick Adenusi, Managing Director, Safety Beyond Borders, a road safety non-governmental organisation, described the commendation letter presented to the officers as wonderful.

“What we witnessed today is wonderful; if it’s not done, the morale of the men will be dampened, and I am excited and glad that this happened within a very short time.

“It is happening when the iron is still hot, and this is the best thing and time,” he said.

He said that the lady involved must be prosecuted, adding that this had happened one time too many.

Adenusi said that if nothing was done, others would be encouraged to do the same thing.

Mohammad, on his part, said that the whole scenario played out in his presence, right from the field up to the time the woman was taken to the base.

“When the incident happened, I tried calming the woman down, but she was only trying to get sympathy from the public.

“Our aim on the road is to save lives and not to cause problems, but unfortunately my calming the woman down yielded no response; she kept on hitting and kicking the officer,” he said. (NAN)