The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said that a total of 3,433 persons have been killed in road crashes across the country between January and September 2025, while 22,162 others were injured out of 6,858 reported crashes within the same period.
Speaking during the flag-off of the 2025 Ember Months Public Enlightenment and Sensitisation Campaign on Monday in Abuja, the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, said although the figure remains worrisome, it represents a reduction compared to the 2024 figures, showing that road safety interventions are yielding results.
He called on motorists to avoid speeding, overloading, use of phones while driving, and night journeys during the ember months, urging them to be more patient and safety conscious as traffic increases towards the end of the year.
He assured that the Corps has strengthened collaboration with transport unions, state traffic agencies, and security agencies to ensure safer roads during the ember months, adding that road safety remains a shared responsibility among all Nigerians.
Mohammed said, “From our 2024 Operation Zero, which ran from December 15, 2024, to January 15, 2025, we recorded 432 deaths and 2,070 injuries from 533 crashes. But between January and September 2025, our data shows 3,433 deaths and 22,162 injuries from 6,858 crashes. Though the figures are still high, it is a reduction compared to the same period last year. We will continue to intensify campaigns and enforcement to bring it further down.”
The Corps Marshal further announced that the FRSC is introducing a contactless biometric driver’s licence system that will eliminate temporary licences and make the entire process faster and seamless.
He said, “It’s seamless now. You don’t need to put your hand on this device to get your fingerprint. You just use the device to take the fingerprint from the system, and it will be implemented automatically. All your details will be captured and synchronized with our database. This one is contactless biometric that we’re going to use, which you will be shown when we have this briefing.
“It doesn’t take time. Also, it captures all the essential details and descriptions that we have. That’s the next phase we’re moving into on driver’s licence. And once you get captured, all the processes of driving will be done; the application, going through the driving schools, getting the driving school certificate, going through the Vehicle Registration Office (VRO), all those opportunities will be done seamlessly.
“At the end of the day, once you reach the point of capture, you get captured and you get your driver’s licence. There’s no longer going to be a temporary driver’s licence. There’s no longer going to be two weeks, one month, six months, one year before you get your driver’s licence. That is the state where we will get it. We are almost through with the process, and the contactless biometric system will commence this month. Once it starts, all applicants will experience a digitalised, one-stop process that delivers their licence instantly. It will be seamless, faster, and fully synchronized with the national database.”
During a visit to the FRSC Driver’s Licence Print Farm, Deputy Corps Marshal (Motor Vehicle Administration), Aliyu Datsama, confirmed that the Corps has ramped up production to clear the pending backlog.
He said, “We work 24-7 now because of the backlog we have. We were having 800,000 backlog, but now we have reduced it to 400,000. Our daily production here is 40,000. In the next few weeks, we’ll clear everything, by the grace of God.”
