The Kano State Police Command has commenced a full-scale enforcement operation against the use of covered number plates, defaced registration numbers, and vehicles plying roads without valid number plates.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Abdullahi Haruna, made the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday.
He said the enforcement is with immediate effect stressing that the command has directed all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, and the Command’s Traffic Section to commence enforcement across Kano metropolis and all local government areas.
“The Kano State Police Command under the leadership of CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, wishes to inform the public of the commencement of a full-scale enforcement operation against the use of covered number plates, defaced registration numbers, and vehicles plying roads without valid number plates,” it said.
According to the statement, the measure became necessary because the command has observed with concern the increasing trend of motorists deliberately covering, tampering with, or removing vehicle number plates,
This act, the statement noted, contravene Section 10(3) of the Road Traffic Act, 2004 and Regulation 38 of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2012, which mandates that every vehicle must display clearly visible and authentic registration numbers at all times.
“Covered or missing number plates undermine crime prevention and investigation efforts. They make it difficult to identify vehicles used in violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping, Daba, thuggery, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities.
“In a cosmopolitan and economically vibrant State like Kano, with 78 Police Divisions and 11 Area Commands policing a rapidly growing population, visible vehicle identification is critical to public safety,” it said.
It added that the enforcement will target
vehicles with covered, defaced, or unreadable number plates, vehicles using fake, unauthorized, or mismatched registration numbers, and vehicles plying roads without front and rear number plates.
The command warned that offending vehicles will be impounded and drivers prosecuted accordingly as there will be no room for discretion or compromise.
The command therefore called on all road users and the good people of Kano State to be law-abiding and to desist from driving motor vehicles with covered number plates, defaced registration numbers, or without valid number plates.
“We appeal to community leaders, transport unions, and the motoring public to cooperate fully with our officers during this exercise,” the statement added.
