Police Warns Motorists Against Covering Number Plates, Says Its Illegal, Attracts Jail Terms
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By OLALEKAN AYENI
The Lagos State Police Command has reiterated that it is illegal for vehicle owners and drivers to cover their number plates.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a post on X.com on Monday, stating that the act violates the National Road Traffic Regulations.
Hundeyin wrote, “Covering of number plates is against the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations.
“When convicted, punishment ranges from fines to prison terms. Ignorance is not an excuse under the law. Above all, forewarned is forearmed!”
He also shared excerpts from the regulations, which mandate clear visibility of number plates both day and night.
The document read, “Each Identification Number Plate must be reflective and so made that any letter, numeral or other identifying mark displayed on it are legible at day time and at night in clear weather and must be visible and recognizable at a distance of not less than 60 metres by the driver of the immediate following vehicle and in the case of motorcycle at a distance of 30 metres.
“All vehicles, private and commercial, shall as from the commencement of these Regulations, have on them the Vehicle Identification Number Plates referred to in this regulation and it shall be an offence for any vehicle not to have the said Identification Number Plates.”
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on December 2024, stated that just as it is compulsory for all vehicles to be duly registered, it is also compulsory to make the registration numbers visible at all times.
He, however, said there are exceptions for “pennant officers” and heads of the three arms of the government who use pennants or flags on their official cars.
However, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), being the leading agency in road traffic management over the years engaged in condemning the habit of covering vehicles number plates by motorists to eradicate security challenges associated with the menace.
The agency, through former Zone 4 Commanding Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal (Dr) Kayode Olagunju (rtd), said the act is common among the political stalwarts and government officials.
This, according to him, has both safety and security implication, and that Sections 10(4)(h) and 10(4)(s) of the FRSC (Establishment) Act, 2007 makes it mandatory for vehicle identification mark ‘Number Plates’ to be conspicuously displayed on a vehicle.
Also, he said, the National Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR) 2012 in sections 36 and 39 makes it an offence not to properly display Vehicle Identification Number on any vehicle plying Nigerian roads.
The Zonal Commander, then stated that such vehicle should be impound while the drivers\owners be arrested and prosecuted in line with the extant laws.
