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The Nigerian Police Force on Friday declared 612 hijacked and missing vehicles as stolen across the country within the last month, following the deployment of the Electronic Central Motor Registry (E-CMR).
Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered an immediate probe to dismantle the syndicate responsible for these vehicle hijackings.
The first batch of seven stolen vehicles reported through the E-CMR platform was flagged for investigation, with three of them already recovered. One of these vehicles, stolen from Abuja, was traced to Ilorin, Kwara State, and returned to its rightful owner last weekend.
A statement from Force Headquarters revealed that, in addition to the recovered vehicles, the E-CMR portal has exposed 1,610 vehicles with conflicting information, all of which have been referred for further investigation.
Speaking on the success of the E-CMR initiative, the Police emphasized that the system aims to drastically reduce vehicle theft and related crimes. The public has responded positively, with more vehicle owners registering their cars on the platform.
The transition from the manual CMR system, which had been in place for decades, to the digital E-CMR is expected to improve vehicle tracking and recovery.
Vehicle owners are encouraged to provide their information via the Police portal at https://cmris.npf.gov.ng and report stolen vehicles through https://reportcmr.npf.gov.ng.
The Police explained that one stolen car from Abuja was recovered after the buyer applied for a CMR certificate, triggering an alert that flagged the vehicle as stolen.
Subsequent investigations revealed the vehicle had been re-registered twice in an attempt to conceal its stolen status. One member of the vehicle theft syndicate has been arrested and will face charges soon.
The Police are collaborating with other agencies to enhance the security of vehicles nationwide and urge vehicle owners to obtain their CMR certificates for easier recovery in the event of theft.
