The Police in Ondo State have reiterated their commitment to impound any vehicle using unauthorised government official or National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) number plates in the state.

Mr. Adebowale Lawal, Commissioner of Police in the state, made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, regarding efforts to reduce the crime rate in the state.

Lawal, who was recently deployed to the state, said that the rate of crime had been reduced due to the robust collaboration of other sister agencies and residents of the state.

He said that there were indications that some people were using fake and unauthorized number plates to perpetrate crimes in the state, saying there was a need for them to desist or face the full wrath of the law.

“Recently, we discovered that there is this swift operation of people fixing the government plate number on vehicles.

“We arrested somebody who fixed the government’s plate number, under the guise of being a member, a government official, and he was not even working there. He just fixed it on his vehicle.

‘And by the time the vehicle was impounded and searched, we recovered some drugs there.

“That of NANS, they just fixed their number, so that by the time you see them, if you are not courageous enough, you will not be able to stop and search.

“It’s not like they were just carrying fake numbers, but the use of the numbers was unauthorised and used for other things.

“And we have said that nobody, if you don’t have the authority to carry those numbers, please don’t carry them. Don’t fix it on your vehicles, because it will be impounded.

“We don’t want anybody under the guise of fixing a government’s plate number and use it to perpetrate any crime,” he said.

Lawal called on Nigerians to join hands with the police in fighting crime, thanked the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), and Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for their support in combating crime and criminality on the waterway and interland.

Our priority is the safety of the good people of the state, to protect their lives, protect their properties, so that the vision and mission of the government will come to fruition,” he said. (Vanguard)