The Lagos State Police Command has impounded about 50 vehicles in a widening crackdown on cars that are either unregistered or being driven with their number plates covered. The seizures mark the active enforcement phase of a directive the command had earlier announced, and the police say the operation is being carried out across different parts of the state.
Speaking about the operation, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, said that close to 50 vehicles had so far been impounded from all parts of Lagos State. He added that the figure could still rise, as some of the affected vehicles were still being brought in from the divisional and area command levels at the time he spoke.
According to the commissioner, the law will take its course on the owners of the seized vehicles, and there will be no exceptions apart from cases specifically allowed under the law. He stressed that the exercise would continue, signalling that the command does not intend to treat the enforcement as a one-off action.
Fatai also issued a pointed warning to motorists, saying the police had repeatedly cautioned drivers about the requirement. He suggested that some had assumed the warnings were an idle threat, but said the impoundment of the vehicles should now make it clear that the command is serious about enforcing the rules on number plates.
The commissioner explained that there are real dangers attached to driving without plates or with covered plates. Such vehicles, he said, can be used by criminals to carry out crimes, while the cameras fixed along the roads are unable to capture anything useful when the plates are hidden or absent.
He further noted that the practice complicates the tracing of stolen vehicles, since a car without a visible and valid plate is far harder to identify and recover. On that basis, the police are pressing ahead with the operation, urging all motorists in Lagos to ensure their vehicles are properly registered and their plates clearly displayed.