By Evelyn Usman
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani, has ordered a statewide clampdown on vehicles plying Lagos roads without number plates or with concealed registration marks, warning that offenders would be arrested and their vehicles impounded with immediate effect.
The directive, according to Fatai, formed part of measures to strengthen security architecture and prevent criminal elements from infiltrating the state through unregistered vehicles.
The CP gave the order during a strategic meeting with Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, DPOs, and Commanders of Tactical Units at the Officers’ Mess, Ikeja, yesterday.
He briefed the officers on resolutions from a recent conference with the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, and outlined new security measures to tighten security across Lagos.
According to Tijani, “The Inspector-General of Police emphasised the need to ensure that all vehicles plying the roads in the country have their plate numbers on them. On no occasion should anybody put a vehicle on the road without a plate number or with a covered plate number. If anybody is found driving such a vehicle, that vehicle will have to be impounded.
He observed that “Most of the vehicles being used by these criminals are either not registered at all or have their plate numbers covered. Apart from those genuinely permitted by law to cover their plate numbers, there are no other exceptions”.
CP Tijani also directed all DPOs to intensify community policing and intelligence gathering at the grassroots, stressing that effective security requires active collaboration between the police and residents.
He further disclosed that the command would sustain joint patrols and intelligence-sharing with other security agencies, particularly in border communities and along waterways, to forestall the movement of criminal elements into Lagos.
Assuring residents of the command’s readiness to tackle emerging threats, Tijani said , “ Lagos Police Command had maintained a strong intelligence network and would continue working closely with transport unions, community leaders and other stakeholders to keep the state safe. Our goal is to ensure that Lagos remains secure and that criminal elements find no space to operate.
