Abuja: The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says it recorded 687 Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) and rescued 2,792 victims during the 2025 Operation Zero Tolerance nationwide. The FRSC Corps Marshal, Malam Shehu Mohammed, disclosed this in Abuja during a news briefing on the outcome of the operation and the corps’ 2025 performance.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, in the spirit of accountability and transparency, the briefing presents a concise, evidence-based assessment of RTCs trends recorded in 2025. The focus was on the December festive operation and a comparative year-on-year performance. Mohammed emphasized that road safety outcomes were measured by data rather than intentions.
The FRSC remains committed to evidence-based interventions, with the briefing anchored on an empirical analysis of RTCs recorded in 2025, with a particular emphasis on the December operation and year-on-year performance. Total RTCs rose from 665 in 2024/2025 to 687 in 2025/2026, representing a 3.4 percent increase. The number of persons involved increased from 5,761 to 5,942. Fatalities rose from 571 to 597, a 4.2 percent increase, while injuries increased from 2,462 to 2,522. However, those rescued without injury rose from 2,697 to 2,792, reflecting improved rescue and emergency response outcomes.
Analysis of Operation Zero for 2025/2026 showed that the most severe crashes were concentrated along key interstate and peri-urban corridors, with several single crash incidents resulting in mass casualties. Locations such as Benin-Asaba-Awka recorded 17 injured and 12 deaths; Zuba-Kaduna-Zaria recorded 67 injured and 39 deaths. Additionally, 49 lives were lost on the Jos-Bauchi, and Gombe-Bauchi-Darazo-Potiskum route, while Abuja-Lokoja route had 28 lives lost, Mai Adua-Daura-Kazaure-Dambata 18, and Enugu-Umuahia-Aba recorded 11 fatalities.
The analysis confirmed that crash concentration remained highest along national mobility arteries. In December 2025 alone, the FCT Metropolis corridor recorded 97 crashes, followed by Zuba-Kaduna-Zaria with 86 crashes, and Lafia-Akwanga-Keffi-Goshen with 80 crashes. These corridors also accounted for the highest fatality burden, justifying sustained patrol dominance, speed enforcement, and targeted intervention along high-risk routes.
Vehicle involvement analysis revealed that buses were the most implicated vehicle category, accounting for 339 crash cases in December 2025. This reinforces the corps’ zero tolerance posture on commercial driver indiscipline, fatigue driving, and speed abuse. Severity analysis showed that the Jos zone recorded the highest severity index at 0.18 and accounted for 11.4 percent of total crashes within the period under review.
Operationally, Kaduna Sector Command recorded the highest number of crashes (71), while zonal command Kaduna led all zones with 146 crashes, prompting command-specific operational recalibration. Temporal analysis showed that 87 percent of crashes occurred between 06:00hrs and 19:59hrs, with a pronounced peak between 12:00hrs and 13:59hrs, while Wednesdays recorded the highest crash frequency.
Causation analysis revealed that speed limit violations accounted for 41 percent of all identified causes of road traffic crashes within the period under review. Speed remains the single greatest threat to life on Nigerian roads, with data indicating that speed kills, indiscipline sustains crashes, and disciplined enforcement saves lives.