The Gombe State Police Command yesterday paraded 12 suspects arrested for allegedly being in possession of counterfeited N265,000 and $56,300 dollar notes.
The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Mahid Muazu Abubakar, said the suspects were arrested at both Funakaye and Dukku Local Government Areas of the state.
According to him, the arrest followed a credible intelligence received and a swift response by the command.
“On the 23/01/2024 at about 1100hrs information was received at Bajoga Divisional Police Headquarters that on the same date at about 1000hrs one Buba Muhammadu, 45, went to a chemist belonging to one Muhammad Ismail, of Sangaru Quarters Bajoga, with counterfeit N1,000 note.
“On receipt of the complaint, detectives attached to the division were detailed to the scene where they arrested the said Buba and recovered the exhibits,” said Mahid.
He added that the arrest of Buba and further investigation led to the subsequent arrest of 53-year-old Jungudo Muhammadu, 30-year-old Adamu Yusuf Mallum, 60-year-old Abdullahi Abdullahi, 50-year-old Salihu Abdulhamid and 35-year-old Abubakar Abdullahi as well as Abubakar Muhammad who was arrested at Kano State.
According to the PPRO, exhibits recovered from the suspects include $50,000 counterfeited US Dollars, and N265000 counterfeits.
Mahid further revealed that on January 24, the police smashed another syndicate and arrested six more suspects in possession of sixty-three pieces of one hundred notes of counterfeit US Dollars.
He explained that the suspects were arrested at Malala Village Dukku LGA.
He said the suspects included “60-year-old Haruna Adamu of Taguji village in Darazau LGA, Bauchi State, 25-year-old Garba Ibrahim of Hashidu village in Dukku LGA, Gombe State and 30-year-old Ismaila Musa of Gombe Abba in Dukku LGA as well as 23-year-old Sa’adu Muhammad of Badarawa Quarters in Kaduna State, 30-year-old Yusuf Abdullahi of Gombe Abba and 26-year-old Muhammadu Umaru of Gombe Abba.
“The suspects have confessed to the crime and will be charged,” the PPRO stated, urging residents to be more vigilant and report all cases to the appropriate authorities.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 2, Onikan, has defaulted three police officers who demanded tinted permits from motorists in a viral video.
The suspects identified as ASP Kenedy Ereoah, Inspector Ademiluyi Adekunle and Inspector Ayo Gbenga, were caught on camera demanding tinted permits from motorists in disregard to the directive of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
They were also said to have been on mofti which caused panic among the motoring public with regards to their true identity.
Giving updates on the incident which generated condemnation on the social media, the zonal spokesman, SP Tunni Ayuba, confirmed they were attached to the Zonal Intelligence Bureau (ZIB) and were on official duty.
She admitted that they acted unprofessionally, adding that they had been defaulted and necessary measures taken so that they would answer for their actions.
Ayuba said: “The attention of the Police in Zone 2 Command was drawn to a viral video posted by ‘X’ user with the handle @EmmCee_RNB on January 25, where three men claiming to be police officers attached to the command demanded a tinted glass permit from a motorist.
“The tweet was responded to, while investigation into the identities of the officers commenced.
“The trio are all attached to the Zonal Intelligence Bureau, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos.
“Contrary to the claim that they are kidnappers, they were on official duty but acted unprofessionally.
‘The officers defaulted and are presently being tried for flouting the Inspector-General of Police’s directive on tinted glass permits.”
Ayuba urged the affected motorist to contact her for further action.
“For the purpose of transparency, the command wishes to request that the affected member of the public contact the ZPPRO via GSM 08100025614 for further action,” she said.
According to her, the AIG has called for calm while reassuring residents of Lagos and Ogun states of their safety and security as they go about their lawful businesses.
Ekiti State Police Command has apprehended eight suspected kidnappers believed to be involved in the abduction of five pupils and four staff of Apostolic Faith Secondary School, Emure-Ekiti.
The gunmen had on Monday ambushed the school bus conveying the pupils and staff to Eporo, a suburb of Emure at a bad spot and whisked them away after the school hour.
The kidnappers earlier made N100m ransom but later reduced it to N15m for nine of their victims.
The police, in a statement on Thursday, February 1, by the command spokesman, Sunday Abutu, said the suspects were arrested by combined security agencies during a bush combing operation in Ekiti and Ondo forests.
According to Abutu, items recovered from the suspects were three cutlasses axe, dagger, a life cow, and food items.
Abutu further added that the suspects are currently undergoing investigations while calling on members of the public to support the police with credible and timely information.
The statement reads: “Following the recent kidnapping of some school children in Emure-Ekiti and the killing of two traditional rulers in Ikole-Ekiti, the Command, to ensure the rescue of the victims and the apprehension of the culprits, deployed the Rapid Response Squad for a bush combing operation in collaboration with the military personnel, Amotekun Corps, Vigilantes, Local Hunters, Members of Agbekoya Group including Policemen and Amotekun Corps from Ondo State.
“During the operation which was carried out through Emure Forest, Ise/Ogbese Forest to Emure-Ile Forest in Ondo State, the following eight suspects were further arrested in the Forests: YAYA SUMAILA, IDRISU ABUBAKAR, HASSAN ABDULAHI, ABUDULLAHI ABUDULLAHI, HARUNA ABUBAKAR, USMAN ABUDULLAHI, HARUNA SULE including one BABUSA ALHAJI LEDE who was arrested inside Ayedun/ Ayebode Ekiti forest in Ikole Area of the State.”
The Police Command in Lagos State has arrested a suspected cult leader, whose gang attempted to forcefully take over a tricycle (Keke Maruwa) park in Fadeyi area.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s Public Relations Officer, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday in Lagos.
Hundeyin said that the suspect was arrested on Wednesday by operatives attached to Onipanu Police Division,
He said that the police received information that six suspected cult members were harrassing commercial tricycle operators at the Keke Maruwa park at Fayedi area.
”The suspects armed with dangerous weapons, including guns, cutlasses, axe, disrupted the activities of the park and also tried to attack the chairman of the said park.
”On receipt of the information, a team of anti-crime operatives immediately went to the scene, and one Seun Olatunbosu, 29-years-old, was arrested with one locally made pistol and two live cartridges while others escaped”.
The command’s spokesperson said that during investigation, the suspect confessed to being a member of the Black Axe confraternity.
”Efforts are on to arrest other members of the gang,” Hundeyin said.
Bodies exhumed •Three herders held over pastor’s murder in Oy
Five suspected kidnappers have been arrested by operatives of the Imo State Police Command during a raid of a forest at Abu, Owerri West Local Government Area.
The raid followed a viral video at the weekend which showed four decomposing bodies that were discovered in the forest.
It was claimed that the association of hunters in the state discovered the enclave with the decomposing bodies inside the forest used by nomadic herders, who they alleged were behind the heinous crimes.
Giving clarifications in a statement yesterday, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Henry Okoye, said the police tactical team led by Commissioner, CP Aboki Danjuma, in synergy with some local hunters stormed the hideout of the hoodlums located inside the thick forest connecting Obinze, Federal University of Technology, Owerri and Avu communities on Monday.
He said five suspects- Muazu Awuta, 30, Abdullahi Abubakar, 32, Ozeru Sabo, 25, Saddam Suleiman, 27 and Bashir Yahaya, 28- were arrested, adding that they were all from Jigawa State.
The suspects, he said, were undergoing investigation and had provided useful information to the police that would lead to the arrest of other syndicates at large.
Revealing other items found in the forest after it was combed, the CP said: “Two decomposing unidentified corpses suspected to be kidnap telephones, wristwatches, shoes, slippers, five operational motorcycles of the abductors were also recovered.
“The command intends to carry out further DNA confirmatory tests to ascertain the identity of the deceased.
“Intense operation is still ongoing in the forest and other identified black spots with the aim of stamping out all forms of crime and criminality in the state.”
The CP said the command had launched a manhunt for the POS robbery attacks and killers of the police officer at Ohii junction on Monday, clarifying that an officer and two residents were killed in the incident.
The Nation reports that residents of Ndegwu, Orogwe and Irete communities of Owerri West have also raised alarm about recurring kidnappings in their areas.
In Oyo State, three herders were arrested in connection with the killing of a pastor in Ogbomoso.
The Nation gathered that the pastor identified as Evangelist Adegboyega, was allegedly killed by some people suspected to be criminal herdsmen in Ogbomoso.
The deceased was said to have been killed in the Gege area, along Ogbomoso-Iseyin road when he challenged the herdsmen who invaded his farm with their cattle to graze his crops.
The Nation learnt that the three suspects were apprehended by the villagers and immediately taken to the palace of Soun of Ogbomosho, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye.
The suspects were subsequently handed over to the police for investigation.
The deceased has been deposited in a private mortuary.
Abia State Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has confirmed the arrest of Peculiar Ginika, the General Overseer and lead pastor of Liberation Word Assembly International in Aba.
The church is located at No. 4 Egbuka Avenue by Unity Bank, Echianu Street off 183 Faulks Road, Aba, Aba North local government area of the state.
Pastor Ginika cooling off his heels at the detention facility of the command headquarters of the Rapid Response Squad of the Nigeria Police situated at the premises of the Aba North local government council.
He was reportedly arrested and detained at the weekend after the father of a female victim; a minor (identify withheld), reported the abuse of his daughter by the General Overseer, who is also their family’s pastor, to the personnel of the RRS.
The nurse who was helping the suspect with contraceptive pills and also took the blood sample of the victim could be arrested for questioning by the police, sources within the police circles disclosed.
Sources within the victim’s family who disclosed that the victim turned 17 years old in November last year (2023), told our correspondent that the said General Overseer has abused their relationship for about two years; since she was 15 years.
According to the sources, the General Overseer who sent his wife packing, took advantage of the desire of the teenager to know God more, while allowing herself to be mentored by the man who was said to have healed her of asthma which has been troubling her since she turned 8 years.
“My sister said that the man forced himself on her and led her to an oath never to reveal what was going on between both of them or she risk her asthma affliction coming back, this time more severe.
“He manipulated my sister such that she hated her parents and even wez her relations.
“He even went ahead trying to force my sister to marry him.
“Through his manipulation and fear of losing my sister, he made my sister who had wanted to study medicine not to agree writing her Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam as she instead opted for a catering school.
“To us, it was surprising how such a brilliant girl would just refuse to pursue her education to choose to go to catering school. We knew that something was wrong, but we never suspected the pastor.
“Each day that they have sex, he uses her up to five times and he gives her contraceptives at the end of the rounds of sex. My sister will wear out and will hardly do house chores and we never knew that a man who visits our house was behind all these.
“The father involved police last week Saturday after she summoned the courage to speak up.
“The matter is with the RRS team in Aba North local government area headquarters, Aba.”
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Maureen Chinaka in a telephone interview on Tuesday confirmed that the said Lead Pastor and General Overseer of the Pentecostal church is still being interrogated by the police.
Sequel to a viral video at the weekend where four decomposing corpses were discovered in a forest in Avu in Owerri West Local Government Area of the Imo State, police operatives swung into action and arrested five suspects in their hideouts.
The viral video credited the hunters association in State for discovery of the decomposing corpses and alleged herdsmen were responsible for the incident.
A statement by Imo Police spokesperson Henry Okoye in response to the incident explained that the tactical team led by Commissioner of Police Aboki Danjuma in synergy with some local hunters on Monday stormed the hideout of the hoodlums in a thick forest connecting Obinze, Federal University of Technology Owerri and Avu communities of the state and arrested the suspects.
The names according to the CP were given as “Muazu Awuta, 30 ‘m’ years; Abdullahi Abubakar, ‘m’ 32years; Ozeru Sabo ‘m’ 25years; Saddam Suleiman ‘m’ 27yrs and Bashir Yahaya, ‘m’, 28yrs .
All suspects, the Police Commissioner informed, were from Jau LGA of Jigawa State and undergoing investigation, stating they have provided useful information to the Police that will lead to the arrest of other syndicates at large.
Revealing other items found in the forest after it was combed, the CP said: “two decomposing unidentified corpses suspected to be kidnapped victims and other items like telephones, wristwatches, shoes, slippers, five operational motorcycles of the abductors were also recovered.”
The CP added: “The Command intends to carry out further DNA confirmatory test to ascertain the identity of the deceased.
“Intense operation is still ongoing in the forest and other identified black spots with the aim of stamping out all forms of crime and criminality in the State”.
0ther communities in Ndegwu,Orogwe and Irete all in Owerri West council area have raised alarm over alleged reoccurring abduction in the areas.
Rising insecurity has reignited calls for state police. Last week, Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar Radda, joined the call. He believes it will help tackle insurgency and banditry. Radda’s position changes the perception that the North is opposed to state police. But, how realistic is the demand, and what steps need to be taken to make it a reality? ADEBISI ONANUGA sought the views of legal experts.
Nigerians are still smarting from the recent abductions of residents from a residential estate in Abuja.
January 7 is a day Abuja lawyer, Oladosu Folorunso Ariyo, will never forget.
A gang of kidnappers dressed in full military camouflage invaded his home located at Sagwari Layout Estate in Dutse, Abuja.
They kidnapped his wife, also a lawyer, and their four children.
The kidnappers demanded N60million ransom.
Ariyo was only able to raise N7 million.
The assailants killed Ariyo’s 13-year-old child Michelle and dumped her body on Kaduna Road.
It was one of many horror kidnap stories in recent times.
Communities have also been attacked and hundreds killed.
On Christmas Eve last year, gunmen attacked villages in Plateau State, killing at least 150 people in 17 communities, and burning down houses.
Some of the locals said that it took more than 12 hours before security agencies responded to their calls for help.
Sunday Dawum, a youth leader in Bokkos, the council areas, said he called security agencies, but they never came.
“The ambush started at around 6.00 p.m, but security reached our place by 7.00 a.m,” he said.
The situation highlights the demerits of a centralised policing system.
Proponents of state police believe that with a well-equipped local police, responding to such distress calls should not take so long.
Governor rekindles call
Last Thursday, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda, said states should be allowed to establish their police commands.
The governor argued that allowing states to establish their police commands would replace existing security outfits.
The governor explained why: “The Northwest region, particularly in recent years, has faced an alarming surge in various forms of insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping, insurgency, and communal conflict.
“These challenges have disrupted the lives of countless Nigerians and hindered economic growth and development in the area.
“Addressing this crisis requires a concerted effort and a unified approach, transcending state boundaries.
“To understand the significance of regional cooperation in the fight against insecurity, several factors must be considered. The first is the cross-border nature of insecurity.
“Our experience with bandits shows that they operate freely between Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto.
“Any effort to push them out of one state leads them to safe havens in neighbouring states, and they often return to their original base.”
Case for state police
Over 100,000 persons were killed from 2009 to 2015 in Borno alone, said Vice President Kashim Shettima, a former governor of the state.
Another 63,111 were killed across the country from June 2015 to May 2023 by terrorists, bandits, herders, communal combatants, cult gangs and in extra-judicial killings by security agents, according to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Nigeria Security Tracker.
With over 371,000 officers, the Nigeria Police Force is overwhelmed, and many parts of the country lack any permanent police presence.
Insurgents of different stripes taking advantage of this have seized control of some hinterland territories, imposing brutal, bloody rule over the locals.
In response, the military is now deployed in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, a major distraction from its role of territorial defence.
In cases of emergencies, police would sometimes decline to respond on the ground that there is no petrol in their vehicles.
Some other times, their response would come so late after the suspense must have escaped.
With insecurity on the rise, it has become apparent that state policing can no longer wait.
Law teacher and prosecutor Wahab Shittu (SAN), Dr Fassy Yusuf; former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section of Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Dr Monday Ubani and former Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dr Joe Abah, also a lawyer, backed the call for state police.
According to Shittu, federalism without state policing is an anathema and a contradiction in terms.
He argued that a federalism such as Nigeria’s with central policing is ‘federalism in the reverse gear’: a unitary system of government masquerading as a federalist structure.
Policing at the grassroots, which state police will guarantee, will ensure improved security, he stressed.
“Indigenes know and understand their terrain better,” the SAN said.
Shittu added: “State policing will ensure effective and efficient policing in that law enforcement agents will easily identify by the geography of the environment the hideout and identities of criminals.
“By way of analogy, drafting personnel from Anambra to police Zamfara, an unfamiliar environment is a disaster.
“First such persons are unfamiliar with the language, culture and criminal antecedents of the area.
“On the contrary state police implies indigenes of every state can effectively police the area because they know the terrain.”
Besides, Shittu said state policing is consistent with devolution of powers – a major attribute of federalism.
“Devolution of powers implies states are not only in control of policing but also its funding, logistics, independence, autonomy and infrastructure thereby enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.
“This will translate into a drastic reduction in crime rate, better coordination and service delivery quality.
“I have heard arguments about the possibility of abuse of state police by the ruling elites against political opponents.
“Who says the central policing too is not free from such abuses? The possibility of abuse of state policing is not sufficient justification against its use in a federalist structure such as Nigeria,” he said.
‘Let policemen operate in their domains’
Dr Yusuf said the call for state police can be justified.
He called for a localised policing system that would recruit from the locality while senior ranks would be rotated.
Yusuf suggested: “Let Policemen operate within their domain and have a central headquarters, and officers to take care of administration.
“But those going to the fields should operate in their locality and that will solve the situation because the security is local.”
Abah: abuses can be managed
Abah thinks the fear of abuse should not be a reason to jettison state police.
In a text on X, formerly Twitter, he stated: “When we mostly agree that something is not working (like unitary policing), we should not be afraid to try something new (like state police) for fear of abuse, particularly as the current system is similarly being abused.
“Instead, let’s think of how to constrain any future abuse.”
Ubani: adopt state police
Ubani argued that a heterogeneous country like Nigeria cannot be effectively policed through a centralised policing mechanism.
He also said it is illogical to brand a governor as chief security officer of the state when in fact, he is not.
This, he noted, is because a police commissioner in a state is being controlled by an Inspector-General of Police who is in Abuja and whose loyalty is somewhere else.
He also noted that most governors are the ones part-funding the Federal police, yet they are not subject to their command and control.
Ubani stressed the need to explore the state policing system with elaborate provisions in the law against any inherent abuse.
He said such enabling law must provide that the arrangement is optional as there may be states that want to remain under the centralised policing system.
Ubani said the law must also provide that only states that want state police and have the necessary capacity should be allowed to create their policing system.
‘How state police can work’
According to the former NBA-SPIDEL chairman, what constitutes an abuse by any state agent should be properly spelt out by the law.
He said one of the measures is that when a governor oversteps his bounds in the use of the state police, the Federal police should be called in immediately to intervene and override the autocratic powers of the governor.
“Secondly the state government that wants state police must show financial capacity which criteria again should be elaborately spelt out,” he said.
‘Why Nigeria must adopt state police’
Ubani believes there is no need for further delays in taking steps to introduce state police.
“The point is nothing ventured, nothing won. Let us try this state policing system as the federal policing system has recorded complete failure in securing Nigeria and Nigerians.
“My weekend experience in an area in Anambra State for a burial and the recent incidence of kidnapping all over the country makes it imperative that another security arrangement is desirable for Nigeria if we must succeed in securing lives and properties in the country,” the NBA Vice President stressed.
Many arguments have been advanced against and in favour of state police.
While the arguments against state police cannot be discountenanced, most Nigerians agree that the advantages of having a complementary outfit to the current policing structure outweigh the demerits.
Rivers State has been thrown into jubilation following the killing of an alleged notorious pirate, John Togo the Second, said to have terrorised major waterways in the state.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu, who confirmed the development in Port Harcourt, described the late Togo as the Anchor Head of Iceland Confraternity.
He said Togo orchestrated a reign of terror, caused fear, devastation and engaged in high profile kidnapping, arms trafficking and illegal oil bunkering.
Disu said John Togo was a significant threat to coastal communities in Rivers State, particularly along Bonny-Port Harcourt, Okrika, and Andoni waterways.
He operated illegal oil bunkering camps, engaged in arms trafficking, and was responsible for numerous heinous acts such as ambushes, murders, and robberies, the police chief said.
He said: “John Togo’s criminal career began in the Borikiri area of Port Harcourt, where he initially engaged in cult-related activities. Gradually, he graduated from petty crimes and evolved into a full-fledged kidnapper and sea pirate, assembling a gang of ruthless criminals along the way.
“Adopting the alias of ex-militant John Togo, who had been killed in July 2011, he and his gang gained notoriety in 2021 due to their involvement in a series of sea piracy and kidnappings, which ignited the #EndSeaPiracy protests and campaigns that reverberated throughout Bonny Island in January 2021”.
He recalled that one of the most brazen acts committed by John Togo was the ambush and subsequent murder of four members of a sister security agency on November 1, 2023 along the Bakana River in Degema Local Government Area.
Disu said: “Notably, he was planning to ambush security personnel patrolling the Bille-Degema-Okrika waterways with speedboats to seize their weapons before he was neutralized.
“Throughout his criminal career, John Togo engaged in numerous shootouts with the Marine Police, Nigerian Army, and NSCDC, displaying his utter disregard for law enforcement and public safety.
“In one such encounter on the 17th of July 2023, Togo engaged security forces in a shootout, compelling them to abandon their gunboat. Despite previous encounters with security forces, John Togo continued to elude capture.
“He targeted commercial boats, mercilessly killed drivers and threw passengers into the sea as he stole the vessels.”
On the intelligence that led to his killing, Disu said: “The turning point came when John Togo abducted Precious George, the Youth Leader of Ibifara Polo, on the 30th of May 2023. After holding George captive for twelve days and receiving a ransom of N2.5 million, Togo’s face was unveiled, setting the police on his trail.
“Acting on credible intelligence, the Rivers State Police Command, in collaboration with the C4i intelligence unit and the Borikiri Police Division, launched an operation to apprehend Togo and his gang.
“Cornered and outnumbered, Togo and his accomplices engaged in a firefight, resulting in Togo’s death and the recovery of his body. The neutralization of John Togo, the merciless sea pirate, underscores the commitment of the Rivers State Police Command to protect lives and properties.
“We assure the public that we will continue to work tirelessly to rid Rivers State of criminal elements. This successful operation sends a clear message that lawlessness and impunity will not be tolerated.
“We extend our gratitude to all the officers involved in this operation for their bravery and professionalism. Our condolences go out to the families and loved ones of the victims who suffered at the hands of John Togo.
“The Rivers State Police Command will maintain close collaboration with other security agencies and stakeholders to ensure a safe and secure environment for all. Together, we will prevail against criminal elements and build a peaceful and prosperous society.”
Disu also confirmed that the command successfully rescued three victims, who were kidnapped from their residence in Omuoluta, Igwuruta-Ali.
He said the swift response of the officers to a distress call led to the safe recovery of Blessing Egbuna and her two daughters, Sonia and Chinaza.
He said: “On the early morning of Sunday, January 28, 2024, our attention was drawn to the abduction of the victims by six armed and masked individuals.
“The incident occurred as they were about to enter their home after returning from work at their provision shop. An eyewitness provided crucial information to the Police, reporting the armed nature of the perpetrators.
“Without delay, our dedicated officers mobilized and executed a well-coordinated operation to rescue the victims. Upon encountering the kidnappers, our officers were met with gunfire, but their unwavering commitment and bravery compelled the suspects to abandon the victims and flee the scene.
“We express our gratitude to the courageous member of the community who promptly alerted the police to the incident. The successful rescue operation serves as a testament to the indispensable role that community cooperation plays in our collective efforts to combat kidnapping in Rivers State.
“The rescued victims, Blessing Egbuna, Sonia, and Chinaza, have conveyed their profound appreciation and prayers to the police officers involved in their rescue. Their reunion with their family is a heartening outcome, underscoring the effectiveness of our ongoing commitment to upholding justice”.
Lagos Police Commissioner, Adegoke Fayoade gave the assurance to The Nation when he was asked why the service was requesting people’s NIN, a private number that should be protected by the owner.
He said the request was to aid in the investigation and recovery of stolen vehicles, explaining that the NIN was the only unique number which all Nigerians are expected to have.
Fayoade clarified that the CMR process had been in existence since 1970 but was only recently introduced electronically so that individual vehicle owners can do the registration from the comfort of their homes or offices without visiting a police station.
He said: “The NIN is being asked on the ECMR, in order to link the number with the particulars of the owner of the vehicle. This is to assist in the investigation and recovery of stolen cars.
“You will agree with me that the NIN is one of the unique means of identification for each Nigerian and so, what we want to achieve is to ensure that every vehicle that is registered in this country can be traced to its owner through the NIN.
“Once you visit the ECMR portal, you will be asked to provide your name, NIN, passport number or driver’s license number before you can proceed “By providing any of these numbers, we have your system in our central database. So, when you register a vehicle it is linked to it. In case that vehicle is stolen and someone else wants to register it, it will.alert the police and we can then go after the new person attempting to register the vehicle to provide it.
“There are many benefits to having your NIN linked to your particulars. So, Nigerians should know that their NIN is safe with the police.”
The Nation reports that many Nigerians have asked why government agencies were requesting personal data from individuals rather than synchronizing the various data collected for Driver’s Licence, International Passport, NIN and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), among others.
Many have wondered why the country was yet to have a central database for the storage of personal information of citizens and residents rather than having too many agencies collecting personal information from the masses with no guarantees on their data protection rights.
But sources yesterday told our Correspondent that retrieving personal data from any of those agencies for the purpose of investigation was usually cumbersome for the police especially when it relates to car theft.
“It is usually a difficult process to get data from the FRSC. Most times information needed to investigate car theft is needed urgently so that the vehicle can be quickly recovered. That is why the police have reintroduced the CMR process and made it more efficient.
“It is a document that must be renewed annually and it is for all vehicles not just new ones. The good thing is that the amount paid for first time registration is halved for subsequent ones,” said a senior police officer yesterday.
He advised Nigerians to visit the website and read the frequently asked questions to clear any doubts they might have.
A motorist who tried to register on January 26 without success shared his experience with our Correspondent.
He wrote: “I’ve been on the site now for over 30 minutes. I don’t think the site is really ready for this exercise. For more than 30 minutes now I have not received any token.
“I have tapped on the “call” button provided if you do not receive a token but it didn’t work. So I’m stuck at this point.”
