The Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Usman Baba, has ordered the immediate evacuation of all impounded, accidented and unregistered exhibit vehicles from police stations nationwide.
The order, according to the acting Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi in a statement on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, was predicated on the stacking of the vehicles within police facilities, which the IGP described as embarrassing and unprofessional.
“The IGP frowns at the practice of stockpiling vehicles recovered from crime scenes or vehicles which ownership is being contested or in doubt, in police premises with stringent requirements and cumbersome processes for the rightful owners to reclaim them,” the statement read, stressing that such an act would no longer be tolerated as it would be an abuse of administrative and judicial processes.
IGP Alkali further ordered heads of police stations and formations to embark on due process to carry out the needful evaluation and release such vehicles in these categories, on bond, to their owners.
He said that the directive was part of efforts being put in place by his administration to ensure conducive working environment for its personnel, in order to set in motion such required strategies to combat crime and criminality in the country.
The IGP also assured that decongesting the police stations and facilities nationwide would be of great operational advantage to the Force in effectively dispensing its policing responsibilities and giving succour to the owners of such exhibit vehicles.
He urged all concerned members of the public to approach various police stations and formations for the recovery and claims of their vehicles, with valid proof of ownership and proper means of identification.
