(Police Emblem. Photo by Daily Nigeria)
The Kano State Police Command says it has arraigned 123 drivers for using vehicles with covered, defaced, or missing number plates since the launch of Operation Clean Plates.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Adamu Bakori said the operation was introduced to prevent criminals from using unregistered vehicles to evade detection, stressing that the objective remains to rid Kano State of vehicles plying its roads with covered, defaced, or no registration numbers.
He added that all drivers of the intercepted vehicles had been charged to court and were being prosecuted under the law.
According to the police commissioner, officers intercepted 123 vehicles across Kano State’s 44 local government areas during the enforcement exercise.
Bakori also announced a major breakthrough recorded by officers from the Panshekara Police Division on July 9, after they stopped a vehicle without a registration plate within Kano metropolis.
He said the driver, identified as 51-year-old Mahi Ibrahim of Rijiyar Zaki, allegedly refused to stop and attempted to flee before he was apprehended.
Police said a search of the suspect and the vehicle led to the recovery of a Beretta pistol, dried leaves suspected to be cannabis, a sharp knife, electric wires, 120 lithium batteries, and a vehicle suspected to have been st0len.
The suspect has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation, while efforts continue to trace the source of the firearm and other recovered items.
Bakori said the arrest validates the very reason the operation was launched, noting that vehicles without proper identification are being used to move suspicious individuals, prohibited firearms, narcotics, and other dangerous items across the state.
The commissioner said the operation would continue across all 44 local government areas, urging vehicle owners to properly register their vehicles and display standard number plates at all times.
He also called on residents to cooperate with police officers and report any unprofessional conduct by personnel through the command’s complaint channels.