Motorists and experts fault the newly introduced Biometric Central Motor Registration by the Nigeria Police Force, saying it is mere usurping of responsibility of other agencies
By OLUSEGUN ADEOSUN
The introduction of machine readable electronic passport in 2007 by the Nigeria Immigration Service marked a landmark achievement in the history of Nigerian, making it the first country in Africa to introduce e-passport and among the first 40 countries in the world to do so. However, since 2007 other government agencies in the country like the National Population Commission, NPC, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and the Independent of National Electronic Commission, INEC, have started employing electronic means to document and store the data of individuals in the country. The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, has recently joined the bandwagon. The NPF will from Monday, September 16 change the process of vehicle, tricycles and auto-bikes registration from the analogue Central Motor Registry, CMR, to a digital Biometric Central Motor Registration, BCMR, system. Unlike the former analogue based procedures, the BCMR operates on smart cards and portable hand-held receiver and is a specially developed technological means of attaching automobile owner’s unique traits and personal data to their vehicles for proper identification and protection purposes.
According to Frank Mba, the public relation officer, NPF, the decision informing the introduction of the BCMR comes against the backdrop of contemporary security challenges bordering on terrorism, high incidence of car theft, carjacking, kidnappings and other acts of crimes and criminalities in the country.
Mba explained that in the Police BCMR, which is designed to be used for forensic analysis and fingerprints can be matched or verified against registered fingerprints collected during registration. “It is designed to match 20 million fingerprints per second (the speed depends on the size of registered prints) 20 million fingerprints is equivalent to 2 million people (10 prints per person). Facial matching can also be achieved with Police BCMR; our database can be matched with still pictures and frames from a video stream,” he said.
This indeed is a laudable effort by the government at reducing spate of crimes in the country, though motorists see it as another round of burden for them while experts and lawyers question the legality of the act. Although motorists do compulsory registration of their vehicles with the FRSC or Vehicle Inspection Office, they are now expected to register again with the NPF, an initiative which James Olabode, a motorist, described as waste of time.
Mike Okoye, a lawyer, said the police do not have the legal responsibility to carry out such an initiative in the country. “If they want data related to a motorist who has committed an offence, they can go to the regulatory agency assigned with the responsibility to register vehicles and drivers, but not to usurp the power of such agency.” he observed. The lawyer noted that the functions of the police are spelt out in the constitution and in the Police Act “and their main function is to maintain law and order and not to engage in biometric registration of motor vehicle.” Okoye doubts the workability of the initiative in a country like Nigeria. For the success of such an effort, Okoye advised: “We must have a workable and improved system before you can really do biometric registration. You can have my fingerprints and if you don’t know where I am, there is no way you can locate me if I have committed a criminal offence. Okey Egbuchu, another legal practitioner, also regretted that the move is an act of illegality on the part of the police, as the FRSC is the only body carrying out such a function.
The BCMR can be registered through designated banks, online or at some police commands. In the bank, car owners pay the registration fees, collect the pin numbers and proceed to the registration points for registration. For online, “get your registration pin, commence the pre-registration by yourself, filling the details of your vehicle and personal data but the registrant would still have to get a designated registration to complete the registration process where his bio-data, photo and fingerprints would be captured,” Mba said. To register at the police commands and other designated areas, registrants would purchase a scratch card, which would give pins to be used for registration. Vehicle owners are expected to pay N3,500.00, while tricycles popularly called “keke Marwa” or “keke NAPEP” and auto-bikes pay N1,500.00.
For Mercy Njoku, a motorist, the whole process is another avenue by Nigerian businessmen to enrich themselves in connivance with some persons in government. “We know they will give the contract to their friends, wives and brothers. The policemen on the roads now have another reason to collect bribe. This will further boost our corruption tendencies,” she noted. However, with the NPF announcing that it is now mandatory for vehicle owners to carry along the BMCR document as part of documents that they need to drive on Nigerian roads, the Nigerian motorists may need to warm up for another round on worry.