Widow of the late Professor Festus Iyayi, Mrs Grace Iyayi, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday asked the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to commence immediate prosecution of those it indicted in the accident involving the convoy of Governor Idris Wada which led to the death of the university don on November 12, 2013.
Counsel to Mrs Grace and ASUU, Chief Femi Falana (SAN), in a letter written to the Commission specifically demanded that the FRSC charge the two suspects, Danladi Baba, the driver in Wada’s convoy whose vehicle collided with the bus conveying the late Iyayi and others and Gitto Costruzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd which is constructing the Abuja-Lokoja highway before a Magistrate Court in Lokoja.
He said they must be charged “for reckless driving occasioning death and creating a road hazard without adequate warning signs, punishable under sections 11 and 20 of the FRSC Act, 2007.”
Falana warned that “if the said suspects are not arraigned in court within two weeks of the receipt of this letter, we shall apply to the Federal High Court for mandamus with a view to compelling you to carry out your statutory duty in the circumstance.”
In the letter dated April 9, 2014, Falana, however, disagreed with FRSC’s request for “more legal powers to bring convoy drivers to justice when involved in traffic infractions that may lead to crashes” on the ground that the Corps already had enormous powers to do so.
He said, “Unlike State governors, convoy drivers attached to them are not entitled to immunity under section 308 of the Constitution.”
