MURIC backs FRSC’s anti-bus preaching bill

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has thrown its support behind a bill proposed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) which aims to ban preaching inside commercial buses and hawking.

The MURIC Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, on Saturday, in a statement, said, “This is a step in the right direction. With emphasis on bus preaching, we commend the FRSC for this proactiveness. The whole idea is not only visionary but also precautionary and constructive. Preaching inside buses is most uncivilized and discourteous.

“Nobody can preach inside commercial vehicles in London, Paris or Frankfurt. So, how are we keeping faith with global best practices? It all boils down to how we value life in our country. Many road accidents have been attributed to loss of focus, and this is what bus preaching causes.

“Yet little or no attention is paid to this danger in our immediate environment. Bus preachers are known to board intra-city, inter-city and inter-state commercial buses, preaching all the way from Lagos to Ibadan, Ondo to Akure, Enugu to Ughelli, etc.

“We support the FRSC bill for two main reasons. Bus preaching distracts drivers, thereby leading to accidents with the attendant deaths and injuries. Secondly, bus preaching constitutes conduct likely to cause a breach of the public peace,” Akintola said.

He said that bus preachers are, more often than not, tolerated willy-nilly, as they are a nuisance that people compel themselves to live with, disturbing virtually every passenger.

The MURIC boss also said that preaching inside buses has led to fracas in some cases, but that the greatest danger lies in road accidents.

He said, “Our lawmakers need to urgently attend to the FRSC bill in view of the high incidence of road crashes in the country.

“According to data supplied by the FRSC, Nigeria recorded 7,715 crashes between January and September 2025. These crashes resulted in 3,915 deaths and 24,674 injuries. In all, the FRSC reported 10,446 crashes and 5,289 deaths in 2025. The previous year (2024) was not better, as 9,570 crashes were reported, with the death toll reaching 5,421.

“Bluntly put, bus preaching is most common among Christian preachers. We therefore advise Christian leaders and churches in the country, particularly in the South-West, to curb the excesses of their followers. Religious overzealousness leading to gruesome killings through road crashes deserves close attention.”