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FRSC officials on duty Photo: File
The Federal Road Safety Corps on Tuesday dismissed a reported threat by the National Association of Nigerian Students to shut down any FRSC command that impounds student vehicles as part of an ongoing special operation against the use of fake vehicle number plates.
The FRSC, in a statement issued by its Corps Public Education Officer, Olusegun Ogungbemide, described the operation as a necessary measure to curb the increasing abuse of Nigerian number plates.
According to the statement, the misuse of number plates by organisations and individuals undermines national security, data storage and retrieval efforts under the National Uniform Licensing Scheme.
The Corps highlighted concerns over the growing cases of forgery and duplication of number plates, warning that failure to address the issue could compromise national security, especially given that many crimes involve the use of vehicles.
“The attention of the Federal Road Safety Corps has been drawn to a purported threat issued by the national body of the National Association of the Nigerian Students as reported in some media platforms to shut down any command of the corps that impounds their vehicles in the ongoing special operations aimed at curbing the use of fake vehicle number plates on their vehicles.
“The special operations which is a fallout from the increasing abuse of the Nigerian number plates by organisations and faceless individuals who desire to drag the nation back to the olden days of indiscriminate, unregistered and irregular use of number plates, with the aim of undermining the gains of enhanced security uniformity, data storage and retrieval under the National Uniform Licensing Scheme.
“In addition, the special operations were necessitated by reports of forgery and duplication of number plates by some reputable Nigerians and organisations. Hence, if immediate remedial actions are not taken against the trend, the nation’s security could be compromised, bearing in mind that the majority of crimes are vehicles-related,” Ogungbemide explained.
Expressing disappointment over the stance of NANS, the FRSC noted that students, as future leaders, should be at the forefront of upholding the law rather than threatening an institution working to ensure order and security in vehicle registration.
The statement further emphasised that FRSC commanding officers nationwide have been directed not to bow to intimidation or threats that could compromise national security or the objectives of the National Vehicle Identification Scheme.
However, the corps reaffirmed its openness to dialogue with NANS leadership for a better understanding of the ongoing operations.
“It is therefore, difficult to comprehend that Nigerian students who are supposed to be at the forefront of a law-abiding nation would resort to issuing such threats to the FRSC, an organisation committed to bringing sanity and regularity to our vehicle registration system for the resolution of vehicle-related crimes and the enhancement of National security, which is pivotal to proper vehicle identification and resolution to the insanity and chaos that characterise the number plates system in the past.
“The FRSC management, therefore, calls on the NANS leadership to reconsider and withdraw the reported threats as FRSC commanding officers nationwide have been directed not to succumb to any intimidation or threats by individuals or organisations in the guise of promoting acts likely to compromise the objects of the National Vehicle Identification Scheme and national security while carrying out their statutory responsibilities of keeping the nation’s highways safe and secure for all road users.
“Meanwhile, the corps is open to dialogue with the leadership of the National Association of the Nigerian Students for more information and understanding on the ongoing operations,” the statement added.
