The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has ordered an immediate suspension of the enforcement of the Central Motor Registry Registration Process (e-CMR) initially scheduled to commence on the 29th of July, 2024.
Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Police Force, NPF announced the suspension in a statement on Sunday.
Following the suspension, the IGP has also ordered all Police officers to desist from requesting for e-CMR certificates from motorists.
According to the statement individuals found extorting or exploiting members of the public on the guise of not having e-CMR certificates will be sanctioned.
He said the suspension was ordered by Egbetokun to give ample opportunity for mass enlightenment and education of all citizens and residents on the process, benefits and effectiveness in solving the challenge of vehicle related crimes, and protection of individual and corporate vehicle ownership through the initiative.
Nevertheless, police highlighted the benefits of the e-CMR in the statement as they also insisted that it was not intended as money generating initiative for the Force.
Thus, despite the suspension of the initiative, police urged motorists to go to the website to register their vehicles for the e-CMR
According to the statement, “Following the reconfiguration and commencement of the electronic central motor registry registration process (e-CMR), the Police has deemed it necessary to highlight the benefits and effectiveness of the e-CMR initiative which is designed to ensure the safety and security of all types of vehicles including motorcycles by collating data imputed into the system by vehicle owners and acting on such to flag the vehicles if reported stolen.
“The e-CMR will provide a firsthand database to the Force for curbing vehicular crimes as dedicated officers can access real-time comprehensive data of every vehicle on their tablets.
“Similarly, the e-CMR will prevent multiple registration of vehicles and serve as a database to collate biometric and other data of vehicle owners and individuals, adding value to the national database and incident report portal generated from other Ministries, Departments and Agencies towards general security.
“Furthermore, contrary to news making the round and insinuations about the e-CMR, the NPF wishes to state categorically that the e-CMR is not a revenue generating platform but an initiative to digitalize policing for effectiveness and general safety of lives and property of Nigeria residents.
“Members of the public are urged to obtain the digitalized CMR certificate online at cmris.npf.gov.ng. For further inquiries, individuals can contact the 24/7 hotline (02018870133), CMR Command Centre at FHQ Abuja (08117777666, 09169892000) and FHQ Annex Lagos (08117777555, 09169891000). Technical support is also available at cmrtech@npfcmr.ng.
