The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has announced that popular TikTok streamer Habeeb Hamzat, popularly known as Peller, would be prosecuted for “reckless” driving.
This came hours after Peller crashed his car during a live TikTok session on Sunday following a reported breakup with his girlfriend, Jarvis.
Videos from the live stream show the content creator crying while driving and making a series of alarming statements like “I’m going to kill myself. I’m scared. I want to die; my body is shaking.”
“The corps marshal has directed the Lagos State sector commander to immediately activate all necessary processes for the prosecution of the individual involved for reckless driving, use of phone while driving and distracted driving, in accordance with extant traffic laws,” FRSC said in a statement on Monday by its spokesperson, Olusegun Ogungbemide.
“This incident, which could have resulted in loss of lives, serves as a grim reminder that fame does not confer immunity from the law, nor does it excuse dangerous behaviour on public roads,” the corps said.
The corps marshal, Shehu Mohammed, raised concern about the “growing trend” of content creators and celebrities “who, in the quest for online attention, deliberately flout traffic regulations and endanger lives.”
Mr Mohammed warned that such behaviour “poses grave danger not only to the driver but to other innocent road users.”
He further warned that fame does not place anyone above the law, nor does it “excuse dangerous behaviour on public roads.”
Mr Mohammed also called on actors’ guilds, entertainment associations, and influencer networks to caution their members, urging them to promote responsible conduct on Nigerian roads.
The FRSC boss stressed that “no social media content, online trend, or momentary clout is worth a human life,” adding that public roads “are not studios, stages, or streaming platforms.”
He maintained that the corps would prosecute any individual who violates traffic laws.
“FRSC remains resolute in its mandate to ensure safer highways and reiterates that road safety is a shared responsibility that demands discipline, restraint, and respect for the law by all, without exception,” he added.