The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has appealed to Nigerians to always show concern by assisting accident victims to rescue them from the cold hands of death.
Dongban-Mensem, who is a Special Road Marshal, made the appeal on Thursday during the 13th annual conference of the Kwapda’as Road Safety Demand Foundation.
According to her, the campaign for road safety has been ongoing for 13 years in memory of her son, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver. She lamented that her son was left to die bleeding.
According to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report, she said, “We want people to remember that if today there is a road victim and they are not the ones, they could be the ones next; it could be their relatives; it could be the people that they are concerned about.”
She explained that people should remember the fact that nobody is beyond being knocked down since the roads are still very insecure. She urged Nigerians to support initiatives like this to ensure sanity on the roads.
By supporting, she added, people can take action by being part of the campaign to inform others because there is a lot of ignorance, apathy, and disinterest when it comes to road safety issues.
Nigerian roads, she observed, are overused because they remain the only means of transportation in the country.
Dongban-Mensem stated that when one provides information, dares to come out, and goes to court to give evidence against those who misuse and undermine the laws, they are participating in the administration of justice and ensuring that roads are safe.
She urged personal commitment to road safety, emphasizing the need to avoid contributing to road mishaps by being properly trained, taking time to learn, and avoiding shortcuts in obtaining driver’s licenses.
Dongban-Mensem also called for the establishment of a trauma center where victims in need can be helped. She assured that her foundation is actively involved in the fifth standard of road safety, the five pillars.
She explained, “We are particularly engaged in the victim part, which is meant to bring support to victims of road crashes.”
Show concern by assisting accident victims – Court of Appeal President to Nigerians