Dr Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has ordered the indefinite suspension of the enforcement of the contentious electronic Central Motor Registry (e-CMR) on vehicle owners.
On Saturday, July 13, 2024, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) gave vehicle owners in Nigeria until July 29, 2024, to register for e-CMR for ₦5,375 per vehicle or face sanction. Many Nigerians condemned the move.
According to a post on X, signed by Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and force Public Relations Officer (PRO), the suspension is to allow for ample time for the NPF to educate the public on the benefits and effectiveness of the e-CMR initiative.
Per the NPF, the e-CMR is an advanced, real-time online repository of motor vehicle data, built to enhance Police investigations and operational activities and combat vehicle-related crimes, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
Essentially, the development aimed to streamline the documentation and verification processes for vehicle ownership and related transactions.
For the citizens, the latest statement claims that the digitalisation of the process will help the Police ensure the safety and security of all vehicle types, including motorcycles, for example, acting on collated data by vehicle owners to flag the vehicles if reported stolen.
“Similarly, the e-CMR will prevent multiple registrations of vehicles and serve as a database to collate biometric and other data of vehicle owners and individuals, adding value to the national database and incident report portal generated from other Ministries, Departments and Agencies towards general security,” part of the statement read.
Responding to some Nigerians who have described the digital initiative as another avenue for the authority to raise money, the Police assured the e-CMR is not. Rather, it said it’s an initiative to improve policing for effectiveness and general safety of lives and property of Nigerians.
The Police advised the general public to obtain their e-CMR certificate online at the official website. While the enforcement is on hold, the initiative is still on.
The IGP has also ordered all Police officers to refrain from asking for e-CMR certificates since the enforcement, to be done only by a dedicated team, has been suspended indefinitely.
The statement warned that defaulting officers will be sanctioned accordingly.
In the light of these developments, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA-SPIDEL) questioned the legal propriety which enables the Nigeria Police Force to issue Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificates to vehicle owners, particularly when it is not clearly stated in any laws (at least to our knowledge) that the Nigeria Police has any authority to issue car licenses or certificates of any nature to to vehicle owners after due registration of vehicles in the appropriate office.
NBA-SPIDEL stated further that any such certificate being issued by the Nigeria Police Force without any legal backing is outright illegal, null, and void and therefore of no consequence. NBA-SPIDEL therefore uses this opportunity to reiterate the fact that the duty of the Nigeria Police in protecting the citizens and enforcing the law does not extend to collecting monies and/or issuing certificates to vehicle owners. Regrettably, the men of the Nigeria Police Force have since taken advantage of the ignorance of unsuspecting Nigerians by extorting large sums of money from them for failure to present the CMRIS certificate on demand during road search.
Consequently, the NBA-SPIDEL states that these acts of illegality must not continue unabated and therefore unequivocally demand that the Nigeria Police immediately stop the issuance and/or demand for the Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificate.
NBA-SPIDEL, humbly but strongly demands that you issue a directive immediately stopping the issuance of/demand for the CMRIS certificates nationwide.
“NBA-SPIDEL further demands that the registration website and every other physical registration centres be shut down, and every money already collected from Nigerians be refunded to them within 3 days of the receipt of this notice. Please note that failure, neglect or refusal to comply with this lawful demand within 7 days of the receipt of this letter will compel NBA-SPIDEL to seek appropriate sanctions in court against your esteemed office and the Nigeria Police Force”.
