In announcing the ban on the use of SPY number plates nationwide last week, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba Alkali said the measure was to curtail widespread disregard of traffic rules by vehicle owners allotted the special numbers. Indeed, in June 2021, the IGP had ordered not only that the issuance of SPY number plates be put on hold, but also that the issuance of tinted vehicle windscreen permit across the country be suspended to help curtail the worsening security challenges. The new directive places a total ban on the use of SPY number plates by all road users in the country and empowers police and other security officers to confiscate all such numbers currently in use on the roads without, however, arresting owners of such vehicles.
The negative traffic and security implications of widespread abuse of the use of these number plates, which informed the directive, is certainly understandable. Those who are not authorized to have access to the number plates in question often obtain them illegally and exhibit them brazenly on our roads without consequence. Not only are these number plates exploited to disregard traffic rules as observed by the IGP, there is the suspicion that criminal elements utilize them to avoid scrutiny by security officers to facilitate their nefarious activities.
But the problem transcends the use of SPY number plates and is more deeply entrenched than the directive of the IGP suggests. For instance, a good number of vehicles on our roads do not display number plates at all, many have their number plates covered, some display their number plates only in front of their vehicles and not also at the back as legally required, while others move around with dealer number plates allotted to particular vehicle dealers for temporary use only all in violation of the law.
Again, the practice has become pervasive whereby vehicles have specialized number plates with such labels on them as Presidency, NASS, NANS or NLC for instance. It is sometimes difficult to ascertain if these vehicles actually represent the institutions indicated on their number plates and this is a serious security risk. Many celebrities and other high net worth Nigerians also use assorted special number plates as distinct from SPY numbers as a symbol of wealth and influence. It is doubtful that the IGP’s directive sufficiently addresses the various dimensions of the problem.
The general ban on SPY numbers across the country creates the impression that such numbers may not have their own useful and positive purposes. Many businesses in the medical, telecoms, banking, oil and gas, construction, financial services and logistics sectors among others may indeed legitimately resort to these numbers to reduce impediments in the movement of staff, equipment and goods thereby enhancing efficiency in the use of time as well as productivity.
According to the guidelines for issuance of SPY number plates, the vehicles covered must be pickup trucks such as Hilux, Nissan Frontier or Tundra, ambulances, bullion vans or Peugeot operational cars like 406 or 407; the affected vehicles must be registered in the company name and proof of ownership as well as vehicle license of company must be presented; the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration certificate of the company must be provided and the passport bio-data page of the company representative must be made available to the issuing authority.
If stipulated requirements are strictly adhered to, the widespread abuse in the use of SPY and other specialized number plates would be drastically curtailed. We are of the view that it is the abuse in issuance of plate numbers by the police that must be addressed by the IGP rather than the general nationwide ban which, even if effectively enforced, may not necessarily have the desired impact in terms of achieving its objectives.
For as long as the current high level of corruption in the police and other security agencies obtains and officers on security patrol are vulnerable to receiving bribes from motorists, traffic violations will routinely occur and criminals will operate freely on the highways even without the need for SPY or other specialized number plates. The challenge is more deep-rooted and the IGP must go beyond addressing the symptoms which is the case with this directive.