By Agnes Afolabi
The Nigeria Police Force, has advised unregistered vehicles’ owners to stop plying them on public roads or risk seizure and prosecution.
The Force Spokesperson, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, gave the advise in Lagos while briefing newsmen on the transformation of the Force Central Motor Registry (CMR) and need for vehicles’ owners to obtain their CMR certificate.
Adejobi said that enforcement of registered vehicle became necessary in view of the level of crimes and criminality associated with unregistered vehicles across the country.
He noted that with registered vehicles plying public roads in Nigeria, the security challenges will be reduced by 60 per cent.
“Whatever we do here is to make sure that we tackle various crimes and criminality head-on in Nigeria. Most of the crimes are carried out with vehicles without registration,” he said.
Adejobi also warned those with vehicle tinted glasses to clear their glasses, except they have genuine reason, with police permit paper to tint their vehicle glasses.
He said the CMR transformation represents a crucial milestone in the Force commitment to safeguarding public safety and enhancing force capacity to combat motor vehicle-associated crimes.
The force spokesperson pointed out that in the past, Nigeria grappled with a surge in vehicle related offenses, including car theft, snatching, kidnapping, carjacking, hit-and-run incidents, which he attributed to use of unregistered vehicles, tinted windows, among other factors.
“This worrisome trend prompted a strategic response from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), leading to the deployment of specialised border forces aimed at curbing these criminal activities.
“In light of these efforts, the NPF rejigged the Central Motor Registry (CMR), a vital initiative that has played a pivotal role in addressing these challenges.
“The CMR has a rich history spanning over six decades having been established in 1958 with a fundamental mission to combat vehicle-related crimes and bolster national security,”he said.
Adejobi said that two CMR Command Centres, strategically situated in Abuja and Lagos, play pivotal roles in streamlining CMR operations, stressing that 37 additional network have been established for registration.
The spokesperson said some significant strides were achieved with the implementation of the CMR, which include: enhancing national security through the transformative initiative.
“Since the inception of the CMR on Dec. 7th, 2022, we have received a total of 8,569 requests from 7,513 applicants, encompassing 8,497 motor vehicles and 72 motorcycles/tricycles.
“Out of these, 8,466 have been successfully approved, while 103 requests are currently in the processing phase.
“These statistics underscore our dedication to streamlining and modernising our processes, ultimately benefiting the public and bolstering law enforcement capabilities in Nigeria.
“Over the past five weeks alone, the CMR platform has witnessed registration of 1,244 vehicles, with 234 of them flagged as reported stolen on the platform.
“We have successfully recovered 46 stolen vehicles during this period, contributing to the overall recovery of 89 stolen vehicles in the last five weeks.
“Our efforts to recover more stolen vehicles remain ongoing, with the goal of achieving full recovery,”he said.
Adejobi encouraged the public to apply for CMR services through user-friendly public portal at https://cmris.npf.gov.ng. or via email at cmrsupport@npf.gov.ng.
The public can also contact the CMR Command Centre in Abuja at 08117777666 and 09169892000, or the CMR Command Centre in Lagos at 08117777555 and 09169891000.