The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has taken its enforcement campaign against motorists with irregular vehicle registration numbers to Bauchi State, warning that offenders will no longer be spared.
The five-day operation, tagged Operation Guduma (Hammer), targets vehicles with fake, missing, faded, covered and unauthorised diplomatic number plates.
The exercise is part of a nationwide security measure directed by the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, to ensure that vehicles can be traced through their registration details and ownership records.
Leading the operation in Bauchi, Corps Commander Chorrie Muta’a said the misuse of government registration numbers by private vehicle owners had become a security concern.
He explained that some individuals, including government officials, allegedly transfer official number plates to their personal vehicles to avoid identification when involved in offences.
Muta’a said concealing registration numbers, particularly on vehicles with tinted windows, could make it difficult for security agencies to identify motorists involved in hit-and-run incidents and other crimes.
He likened driving without a valid registration number to having a child without a name, insisting that every vehicle must have a recognised identity.
According to him, the enforcement team would extend its operations beyond Bauchi metropolis to all 20 local government areas of the state.
He said the Corps had carried out similar exercises in other parts of the country and was determined to ensure compliance across Bauchi.
The FRSC commander appealed to motorists to regularise their vehicle documents and cooperate with enforcement officers, adding that the operation, which started on Monday, would end on Friday.