Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, IGP Deji Adeyanju, a human rights attorney, has urged Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to cancel the proposed implementation of the recently announced third-party insurance for car owners right away. The attorney threatened legal action unless the cops abandoned the “unpopular” policy within 48 hours.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Vehicle owners in Nigeria have until July 29 to register for the digitalized Central Motor Registry (e-CMR), which costs N5,375 per vehicle, according to a January 11 directive from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The NPF urged drivers to register within the next 14 days and stated that enforcement of the e-CMR, a required document for car owners, would begin on the specified date in a statement signed by ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is responsible for enforcing regulations related to roads, and the aforementioned directive is not supported by the Police Act or any other law, according to Adeyanju’s letter dated January 13. In violation of their constitutionally mandated duty to protect Nigerians’ lives and property, he charged that the police were attempting to make money off of the e-CMR.
“Sir, we must state immediately that not only is the proposed enforcement unpopular, but it is not backed by the Police Act, which is the existing law that established the Nigerian Police Force, and we dare say, any other law,” the letter said in sections.
The Federal Road Safety Corps is instead in charge of regulating matters pertaining to the security of people and automobiles on Nigerian roadways. Even though the Nigeria Police has a lot of authority, it cannot be used for matters unrelated to its primary responsibilities under the Police Act.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed the idea that Nigerian security agencies had limited authority in a number of judgments, most recently in Nwaboshi v. F.R.N & Ors (2023) LPELR-60698 (SC). “The Nigerian Police Force does not have a lot of authority. We believe, sir, that the Nigerian Police Force is not equipped to enforce third-party insurance for Nigerian car owners, and that the intended enforcement should be dropped right away.
Additionally, it seems, sir, that the Nigeria Police Force, under your direction, is shifting more and more in the direction of generating income rather than fulfilling its primary constitutional duty of defending Nigerian lives and property.
The Nigeria Police Force proposed an unpopular idea a few months ago: asking Nigerians to pay N5,375 to register their cars on the Police Central Motor Registry platform. Before the proposed implementation of the police CMR was stopped, well-meaning Nigerians had to step in.
Just two months later, the Nigeria Police Force has once again decided to impose third-party auto insurance, a move that you are aware will eventually result in more Nigerian police officers extorting defenseless drivers.
Adeyanju threatened legal action within 48 hours if the directive is not withdrawn, saying, “Therefore, we must ask why the Nigeria Police are fixated on policies that are apparently aimed at generating money, while the vast majority of Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones continue to suffer from grave insecurity ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, murder, etc.”CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
