The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have strengthened their partnership to tackle the growing abuse, falsification, impersonation, and illegal use of diplomatic and official number plates across Nigeria.
The resolution was reached during a courtesy visit by the Ministry’s Spokesperson, Mr. Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, to the FRSC National Headquarters in Abuja on Monday, where he congratulated the Corps Public Education Officer and Spokesperson, Deputy Corps Commander Osondu Ohaeri, on his appointment.
During the visit, Ebienfa also met with Assistant Corps Marshal Operations, Olusegun Ogungbemide, to discuss closer collaboration between both institutions in addressing security concerns linked to fake diplomatic number plates, diplomatic passports, and other official identification documents.
According to the Ministry, the campaign against the illegal use of ambassadorial titles by unauthorized individuals has revealed a disturbing trend involving the use of forged diplomatic passports and vehicle registration plates.
Speaking during the meeting, Ogungbemide disclosed that recent nationwide enforcement operations by the FRSC led to the interception of about 1,000 vehicles using fake diplomatic plates, unauthorized government number plates, cloned registration documents, and other fraudulently obtained vehicle identification materials.
Both agencies expressed concern that the misuse of diplomatic number plates undermines Nigeria’s diplomatic privileges and immunities regime while posing serious national security risks, including identity concealment and facilitation of criminal activities.
They noted that such practices damage Nigeria’s international reputation and violate established diplomatic norms.
To address the challenge, the Ministry and the FRSC agreed to deepen information sharing, strengthen verification procedures for diplomatic vehicles and accreditation records, and develop a more robust monitoring framework for the issuance and use of diplomatic number plates.
The two institutions also agreed to explore improved verification systems that would link diplomatic accreditation records with vehicle registration databases to enable real-time authentication of diplomatic vehicles and prevent unauthorized use of diplomatic identities.
The Ministry commended the FRSC’s efforts in uncovering abuses and reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with the Corps and other security agencies to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s diplomatic system and uphold international best practices.
As part of the collaboration, both organisations plan to conduct further consultations and public awareness campaigns to educate stakeholders on the lawful use of diplomatic number plates and the penalties associated with impersonation, forgery, and related offences.
The Ministry reiterated that diplomatic number plates remain the exclusive property of accredited diplomatic missions, international organisations, and duly recognised diplomatic personnel, warning that diplomatic privileges and immunities must not be abused, transferred, sold, or used by unauthorized persons.
It also called on members of the public to report suspected cases of misuse of diplomatic number plates or diplomatic identification documents to relevant law enforcement agencies.
