The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has warned that unless the Nigeria Police cease demand for Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificate from vehicle owners within seven days, it would sue the force.

In a letter addressed to Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, SPIDEL noted that “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,” adding that “This illegality has to stop immediately.”

Below is the full text of the statement.

The Inspector General of Police,
Nigeria Police Force,
Force Headquarters,
Louis Edet House,
Garki Area 11,
Abuja.

Dear Sir,

IN RE: ISSUANCE OF CENTRAL MOTOR REGISTRY INFORMATION SYSTEM (CMRIS) CERTIFICATE BY THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE: A DEMAND FOR THE IMMEDIATE STOPPAGE OF SAME

The attention of the Nigeria Bar Association Section on Public Interest (NBA-SPIDEL) has been recently drawn to reports all around the country that vehicle owners are mandated to register and obtain a Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificate from the Nigeria Police Force for a cost of not less than #6,000.00 (Six thousand naira).

NBA-SPIDEL also has it on good authority that the men of the Nigeria Police have since started enforcing compliance wherein purported defaulters have been made to part with their hard-earned monies in thousands of Naira.
In the light of these developments, the NBA-SPIDEL questions 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 states 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. This illegality has to stop immediately.

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, therefore, 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.

Please be assured of our utmost respect at all times.

John Aikpokpo-Martins
(Chairman)

Funmi Adeogun
(Secretary)

To join our CITY LAWYER platform on WhatsApp, click here

To join our Telegram platform, click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on “X” (TWITTER) at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER or for Special Features, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.