[size=14pt]Double vehicle registration dilemma[/size]
MONDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2010 00:00 ESHOFUNE, FROM ABU ZARIA YOU REPORT - YOU REPORT LAGOS

IN 2006, my friend bought a Primera saloon car and went through the rigour of registering it legally, according to all the country’s lay down rules. Oyo State licence plate number was about N18,000, Abuja was N22,000 while Lagos’ was N27,000. Even though he was neither from any of these states, he preferred that of Lagos, because he considered it the most ‘universal’ in the country. The licence plate of his home state sold for about 17,500. But he chose Lagos. He paid to the bank as directed and was given documents and receipts at the Ikeja licensing office. When it was due a year after, he went to Lagos to renew this. But two years after, Lagos State’s vehicle registration processes went hi-tech, and so was the accompanying madness.





When my friend went to the Oyo State vehicle licensing office to renew his car particulars through the novel means, he was told that his car ‘has the problem of double registration’. What this means (for those who do not know) is that the particular licence plate that he paid for and was issued has been ‘sold’ to two vehicles concurrently. How come, you may ask. He was told by the all-knowing licensing officer that ‘by my experience, you better go and re-register, and pay another money, so that they give you another new number, ’

‘What! What do you mean’ he queried.
‘Bros, you would have to go to Lagos and report your case there, so that your problem can be solved.’

‘My problem? Now you call that my problem! Didn’t I pay for the plate? Yes, I paid for the licence plate and have genuine receipts,’ he replied, cautiously emphasising the word, ‘genuine’, and pointing daringly at the opening on the window pane through which they conversed.

‘Na wetin! Oga, me I just dey try advise you,’ the officer sighed and made to leave the cubicle. Then my friend suddenly realized how squashed up he was in the mess, so he begged to know more.

‘But, but I have engraved the number on all of the car, from the windscreen to the wiper; and also my new alloy wheels. Even if I save enough money to secure another plate number, how do I change the engravings?’

‘You can’t change the engraving. That is why you must report yourself first to the police. That is, after you have sworn to an affidavit at the court that you are the real owner of the car and that so and so happened, simple!’

Simple indeed! How can one deliberately walk on live coals and his feet not burn? In this country, we all know that going to the police to report yourself is akin to committing a suicide because your lover ran away with another man. At least some suicide cases are arguably justifiable, not a few are products of sheer human stupidity, though. Perhaps not even the devil himself would forgive your premature report at hell’s gate on the mere excuse that you were so dumb as to have reported yourself to the Nigerian Police. How many of us have been told to ‘park!’ off the expressway and ‘follow us to the station’ because there is an ‘S’ digit in your papers instead of the digit ‘5' in your chassis number? Now this impervious licensing officer wants you to report to the police that the entire 44 types of engraving on your car and the fact that your old registered papers are not in consonance with your licence plate number are entirely the fault of the Lagos State licensing office; and that you should be completely absorbed of the crime of inconsistency. Hmm. Food for thought.


The bigger dilemma, however, involves certain burning questions: Whose fault is it that the licence plate is double-registered? Who, therefore, should be held responsible for the illegality: my friend, the other buyer, FRSC or Lagos State Government? What is Lagos government and FRSC doing about this? And for goodness’ sake, why should my friend be held responsible? That would mean that there is no significant difference between our highly equipped government agencies and the omo-onile practice in Ibadan who simultaneously sell the same plot of land to 5 buyers.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31841:-double-vehicle-registration-dilemma&catid=67:you-report-lagos&Itemid=583

FRSC and the relevant autorities must be sued. He must get his attorney to deal with this issue. Forget the police.

Forget about the police bros.consult your lawyer.But wait a minute? since the money involve is less than 30k,does it really worth?
it's seen that u posted on a wrong section?