Use Of Covered Number Plates Banned In Lagos

The Lagos State government has announced a ban on the use of vehicles with covered or without registered number plates.

Briefing newsmen after the State Security Council meeting presided over by Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tunde Sobulo said security agencies will no longer accept the situation where some people cover their vehicle number plates for reasons best known to them.

“We are not going to accept that again. We have seen some people putting Chief or whatever in the plate number. You can put your village or whatever you want to put on your windscreen, not on the space specified for your plate number.”

“As we are leaving here now, we are sending signals to all the agencies, including the military, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the Federal Road Safety Commission. We are going to start impounding those vehicles until they are properly registered. We will see the plate numbers and they will be fixed into the vehicles before we allow such vehicles to go,” Mr. Sobulo explained.

The Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of Operations, also thanked Lagosians for their cooperation and support during the Christmas and New Year.

He said the information really assisted the Police in putting the security situation in the state under control.

On Tuesday’s fuel subsidy protest in Lagos, Mr. Sobulo said the Police was very civil in handling the situation, adding “we are not against anybody protesting , it is their civic right, but when they are not considerate, the miscreants and hoodlums take over from them and they couldn’t control them and that is what happened yesterday.”

He reiterated that the Police did not manhandle anybody who was protesting genuinely, stating that: “in a situation where somebody brought tyres and fuel to create bonfire on the road, we will not be watching such acts. We have to arrest such a person and charge him appropriately and that was what happened yesterday.”

“We are appealing to the leaders of the protesters to have a change of heart and manage their protests effectively well. Let them tell us where they are going to pass through so that we can provide security for them and provide corridor for other vehicles to pass while they are protesting.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), they blocked all the roads which was quite unfortunate. The situation was so bad that we had pregnant women, children crying in the vehicles because there was traffic hold-up everywhere. The evil minded ones were using the opportunity to rob people.

“They were entering BRT buses, snatching phones, taking off neck chains. What do you expect us to do, stand and be looking at them? We did make some arrests yesterday but we didn’t have any unnecessary confrontation with those who were protesting genuinely,” DCP Sobulo explained.

Also present at the briefing were the representative of the Nigeria Airforce Base, Ikeja, Wing Commander G. Oremosun (right), Director, State Security Service, Lagos, Mr. Achu Ben Olayi, Commander, 9 Brigade Ikeja, Brigadier-General Sanusi Nasiru Muazu and Executive Officer, NNS Beecroft, Navy Captain BJ Gbassa.