Police make fresh move to enforce e-CMR for vehicle owners

Despite criticism and public opposition, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) may have commenced fresh move to enforce the electronic Central Motor Registry (e-CMR) in the country.

In an X post, accompanied with a graphic design on Wednesday, the police highlighted the key benefits of the system while in a flier, it invited and directed the general public to the website created for registration.

“Unlock the future of vehicle security with the Nigeria Police Force’s Electronic Central Motor.

Registry (E-CMR)! Why choose E-CMR?” the post reads.

The flier, which bears police logo reads, “To register now kindly visit  www.cmrisnpf.gov.ng/

Initial move

On 13 July, the police faced criticism after announcing the enforcement of the digitalised motor registration on vehicle owners.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Force through its spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, announced that it would commence the enforcement within two weeks specifically on 29 July.

In a statement, Mr Adejobi said the e-CMR would privide a firsthand database to the Force for curbing vehicular crimes as dedicated officers can access real-time comprehensive data of every vehicle on their tablets.

The announcement triggered a spate of criticisms from some Nigerians and organisations, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The critics argued that it was not the duty of the police to issue such vehicle documents.

In a letter to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, he NBA Section on Public Interest specifically asked the police to discontinued the registration and removed it from its website.

“Any such certificate being issued by the Nigeria Police Force without legal backing is outright illegal, null, and void, and therefore of no consequence,” it added while noting that the police duty was solely restricted under the law to protect citizens and enforce the law..

The police subsequently bowed to pressure and announced the suspension of the exercise.

According to Mr Adejobi, in a statement, the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered the suspension of the commencement of the issuance of the document “to give ample opportunity for mass enlightenment and education of all citizens and residents on the process, benefits and effectiveness in solving the challenge of vehicle related crimes, and protection of individual and corporate vehicle ownership.”

Apart from the public opposition, a court had reportedly stopped the police sometime ago.

The police spokesperson could not be reached on Thursday to comment on the fresh move to issue the digital document. He did not respond to calls and text messages to his mobile telephone.

Unresolved issue between police and FRSC

With the renewed move to commence the issuance of the e-CMR, the police may still have to contend with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) over its authority to do so.

In July, this newspaper reported that the issue had remained unresolved between the two agencies since 2004.

At the time, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) stated that the police did not have the authority to request the document from drivers in the country.

The commission had asked the police, under the then IGP Tafa Balogun, to instruct his officers to stop demanding the e-CMR document from motorists nationwide, as it (FRSC) was mandated to maintain records of motor vehicles in the country.