NBA Sues IGP Over Vehicle Certificate

• The plaintiffs urged the court to order the defendants to refund all monies collected from those who obtained the certificate
• The police had in December 2023 unveiled CMRIS as one of the means to help the police have essential details of vehicle owners in its database.
• However, according to the NBA-SPIDEL, obtaining the certificate from the Nigeria Police Force costs N6,000.

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, is facing a lawsuit filed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Public Interest and Development Law.

The lawsuit is in regard to the implementation of the Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) for vehicle owners nationwide.

The police had in December 2023, introduced CMRIS as a means to gather important information about vehicle owners and store it in their database.

However, the NBA-SPIDEL argues that obtaining the certificate from the Nigeria Police Force comes with a price tag of N6,000, which they deem illegal.

Subsequently, on January 29, the Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, John Aikpokpo-Martins, and Secretary, Funmi Adeogun, sent a letter expressing their concerns and issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Inspector General to cease the issuance of the certificate.

Since the Inspector General did not comply with their request, the NBA-SPIDEL chair and secretary have taken further action by filing an application to halt the issuance of the certificate by the Inspector General and the Nigeria Police Force.

The plaintiffs argued that the Nigeria Police Force, under the command and authority of the IG, did not have the legal basis to establish a motor registry or issue certificates of identification or proof of ownership known as the Central Motor Registry Information System Certificate (or any other name) to Nigerian citizens.

They further asserted that the Nigeria Police Force, not being a revenue-generating agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, did not possess the authority to set and collect fees for issuing the Central Motor Registry Information System Certificate to Nigerians.