By Izunna Okafor, Awka
When I first joined the FRSC Anambra Media Forum some years ago, I saw it as a professional space where journalists and officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) could work together to advance road safety awareness, promote transparency, and ensure prompt dissemination of traffic-related information to the public. It was, at least in my understanding, a collaboration anchored on mutual respect, journalists doing their job of informing the people, and the Corps doing its duty of safeguarding lives on the roads.
However, what started as a partnership soon turned into a rather disturbing personal experience that has raised serious questions about the FRSC’s relationship with the media in Anambra State and its internal commitment to openness.
The entire issue began on February 28, 2025, when I reported a fatal crash along the Enugu–Onitsha Expressway near Awka — an early morning accident that claimed the lives of some transport workers. To my surprise, the FRSC neither reported nor acknowledged the tragic incident several hours after it occurred. Given my duty as a journalist and the urgency of public information, I published the report and shared it in the FRSC Anambra Media Forum WhatsApp group, along with other media groups. Before writing that report, I had also made attempt to get the confirmation, details, and reactions from the frsc spokesperson about the accident, but to no avail.
Minutes later, to my astonishment, the Acting Public Education Officer (PEO) at the time, RC Onabe, deleted my post and removed me entirely from the group without any explanation. My calls to her line went unanswered; my messages ignored. The Forum, which serves as the Corps’ official communication channel with journalists, suddenly became off-limits to me.
The next day, I contacted the then Sector Commander, Corps Commander Joyce Alexander, who, to her credit, acknowledged my report, confirmed the accident, and admitted that the story was factual. She, however, advised that I should have contacted the Corps before publishing, a fair point, though it still did not justify my removal from the group. She promised to direct the Spokesperson to reinstate me, yet hours turned into days, and the promised reinstatement never came.
Even more concerning was that 24 hours after the crash, the FRSC had still not released any official statement about the fatal incident. That silence, coupled with my removal, raised eyebrows. What could the FRSC possibly be hiding? Why punish a journalist for reporting a factually accurate story that the Corps itself failed to publish? Was this an act of retaliation, or a symptom of deeper institutional opacity?
Months later, I was eventually re-added to the group. But that relief was short-lived. Barely a month after, my WhatsApp number developed a technical issue that automatically logged me out of all groups, including that FRSC forum. I opened a new WhatsApp line in July 2025 and reached out again to the spokesperson, SRC Margaret B. Onabe, to request that I be re-added to the forum. Since then, my repeated messages and calls were ignored.
Interestingly, whenever I reached out to her for press statements or clarifications on road incidents, as professional duty demands, she would respond briefly, only to return to ignoring my pending request afterward. When I reminded her again following the recent crash at Igbariam Junction, she finally replied, saying:
“Adding someone to the platform now is a management decision. I have presented your case awaiting their feedback. Don’t bother…”
Her message left me puzzled. Since when did adding a journalist back to a professional media group require a “management decision”? Upon inquiry, I discovered that other journalists were still being added to the same forum during this period, which contradicts her explanation and suggests a deliberate act of exclusion.
The irony of it all is that this same FRSC has often called on journalists to partner with it in promoting safety awareness and responsible driving. Yet, I am being unofficially blacklisted for reporting an accident they refused to acknowledge. In fact, the same spokesperson once confided that she had written a report about a similar accident but it was not approved for publication, meaning that many of such serious or fatal accidents may been being swept under the carpet for unknown reasons, probably to justify or earn some periodic ratings coming from some quarters with regards to states with higher or lower number of accidents. If that claim was true, it only deepens the suspicion that something may be seriously wrong within the system.
One cannot help but ask: When did it become a crime to perform one’s journalistic duty? Why should an agency that thrives on public cooperation seek to silence the very people whose work amplifies its message? The FRSC in Anambra needs to realize that withholding information or victimizing journalists does not serve the public good, but rather erodes trust.
The role of the media is not to flatter or cover up, but to inform, enlighten, and hold institutions accountable. Constructive criticism and timely reportage are not acts of hostility but tools for progress. The FRSC must, therefore, rethink its media relations strategy, rebuild confidence, and reaffirm its commitment to transparency, because collaboration, not censorship, remains the surest route to safer roads and a more informed society.
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Izunna Okafor is a practicing journalist based in Anambra State.
