Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has issued a nationwide warning over the increasing use of unregistered vehicles and the concealment, defacement, or alteration of number plates, describing the practice as illegal and a serious threat to public safety and national security.
He said the trend is increasingly being exploited by criminals to evade detection and avoid accountability, adding that the Nigeria Police Force will no longer tolerate such acts.
The IGP directed all police commands and formations across the country to intensify enforcement, ordering that any vehicle found without valid registration or with tampered, hidden, or obscured plates should be stopped, impounded, and processed according to the law.
“Every vehicle operating on our roads must be properly registered and must display its approved registration number in accordance with the law.
Any vehicle found without number plates or with deliberately obscured, concealed, or tampered registration number will be stopped, impounded, and subjected to the appropriate legal process,” Disu said.
He stressed that vehicle registration is not merely an administrative requirement but a vital tool for crime prevention, intelligence gathering, and national security, noting that criminal groups often rely on untraceable vehicles to carry out illegal activities.
Disu further instructed all Commissioners of Police, tactical commanders, and heads of formations to step up enforcement operations nationwide to ensure compliance.
