…Prosecutes 2,241 Traffic Offenders

The Edo FRSC Sector Com
mand said  its mobile courts prosecuted 2,241 traffic offenders between January 2010 and April 2014.
The Sector Commander, Mr Luka Ikpi, stated this in an interview with The Tide source  in Benin  said that a total of 2,074 offenders were convicted, while 167 were discharged during the period under review.
A breakdown of the figures showed that 198 offenders were prosecuted in 2010 out of whom 174 were convicted and 24 discharged.
In 2011, a total of 381 offenders were prosecuted out of whom, 363 were convicted and 18 discharged.
The figure showed that 552 offenders were prosecuted in 2012, out of whom 517 were convicted and 35 discharged, while in 2013, a total of 917 offenders were prosecuted, while 842 were convicted and 75 discharged.
It also showed that between January and April 2014, a total of 193 were prosecuted, while 178 and 15 were convicted and discharged respectively.
“For the purpose of speedy trial of traffic offenders, three magistrates were assigned to three mobile courts in Benin, Iruekpen and Auchi, to prosecute traffic offenders.
“The most common offences have been changing over the years due to level of awareness of the populace.
“But the most common offences thus far have been seat-belt violation, light sign violation, riding motorcycle without safety helmet, drivers licence violation, vehicle licence violation and number plate violation.
“The magistrate can award a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment or payment of fines which is the penalty for the offences committed,’’ he said.
Ikpi said that the convictions had served as deterrent to drivers and helped to reduce road traffic accidents in the state.