…Demands immediate stoppage of CMRIS
The Nigeria Bar Association Section on Public Interest (NBA-SPIDEL) has questioned the legal propriety which enabled the Nigeria Police Force to issue Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificates to vehicle owners.
In a letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police, a copy of which was made available to Forefront News, NBA-SPIDEL, demanded that the police boss should issue a directive stopping the issuance of and demand for the CMRIS certificates nationwide immediately.
It noted that all around the country, vehicle owners are being mandated to register and obtain a Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificate from the Nigeria Police Force for a cost of not less than #6,000.00 (Six thousand naira).
The letter which was signed by John Aikpokpo-Martins and Funmi Adeogun, chairman and secretary respectively, the NBA-SPIDEL stressed that it is not stated in any of the laws that the Nigeria Police has any authority to issue car licenses or certificates of any nature to vehicle owners after due registration of vehicles in the appropriate office.
NBA-SPIDEL specifically said that any such certificate being issued by the Nigeria Police Force without any legal backing is outright illegal, null, and void and therefore of no consequence.
It stressed that the fact that the duty of the Nigeria Police in protecting the citizens and enforcing the law, does not and cannot extend to collecting monies and/or issuing certificates to vehicle owners.
The NBA-SPIDEL said that it has on good authority that the men of the Nigeria Police have since started enforcing compliance wherein purported defaulters have been made to part with their hard-earned monies in thousands of Naira.
The statement further stated; “Regrettably, the men of the Nigeria Police Force have since taken advantage of the ignorance of unsuspecting Nigerians by extorting large sums of money from them for failure to present the CMRIS certificate on demand during road search.
“This illegality has to stop immediately. Consequently, the NBA-SPIDEL states that these acts of illegality must not continue unabated and therefore unequivocally demand that the Nigeria Police immediately stop the issuance and/or demand for the Central Motor Information System (CMRIS) Certificate,” it said.
The NBA-SPIDEL further demanded that the registration website and every other physical registration centres set up by the Nigeria Police should be shut down while every money already collected from Nigerians be refunded to them within three days of the receipt of the notice.
NBA-SPIDEL warned that failure, neglect or refusal to comply with its lawful demand within seven days of the receipt of its letter would compel it to seek appropriate sanctions in court against the office of the IGP and the Nigeria Police Force.
