Emeka Ibemere
It’s difficult to know who is who at their
sprawling office. Why?
As you
walk inside the large compound, you would be confronted by three to four men
trying to lure you for a ‘business’ and it goes, if you are gullible.
Everybody you come across here is busy
carrying one document or another; including the processing application forms
for fresh drivers’ licenses.
Few metres away, are bunch of rough looking
young men hanging around with some documents as if they were waiting for an
instructions from the officers on what next to do.
You
are welcome to the office of the Lagos State Sector Command of Federal Road
Safety Corps and that of the Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Operational Headquarters
at Ojodu, in the Ikeja area of Lagos.
Here, everybody is involved in the issuance
of the new drivers’ licence. There is a growing syndicate smiling to the banks
to the disadvantage of Nigerians who try to get the new Drivers’ Licence.
Investigations revealed that both government
agencies hired touts who act as marketers of the new drivers’ licence and bring
returns to the officers. Also, the syndicate is so powerful that you wonder why
they exist in such offices.
The touts acts as ‘facilitators’ and provided
licences, for fees of up to N15, 000 without the recipient having to take any
driving test.
Thirty out of 40 officers at the Ojodu office
of both agencies have no office and table. They are hired touts. The dirty jobs
are done in the office of an officer(s); who vacate his office for touts.
A lady officer briefed our correspondent that
the touts belonged to the ‘big shots’ at Ojodu office of the Lagos State Sector
Command of Federal Road Safety Corps and that of the Lagos State Vehicle
Inspection Operational headquarters. The touts work for the Lagos State Vehicle
Inspection Officers and for the officers of the Lagos State Sector Command of
Federal Road Safety Corps.
The thriving deal of extortion at Ojodu
office of both agencies is worrisome that the syndicate has the entire
wherewithal to call anybody’s bluff if you threat to call security men.
“The powerful syndicate that exist here is so
strong that one cannot stop them”, the lady officer hinted.
The lady revealed how the touts forged
official documents to issue fake licenses to unsuspecting Nigerians. Most
victims are those who want theirs through short-cuts.
Drivers’ license fraud includes the use of
another person’s identity, the submission of counterfeit identity documents,
and all other activities intended to obtain a driver license or identification
card by a person or for a person who is not eligible for issuance of such a
document.
Those who patronize touts are presented with
counterfeit documents with an undocumented person who is not eligible for a
driver’s license or has no National identity card.
The touts also use counterfeit birth
certificates or fake National ID Cards created on a personal computer by
scanning a legitimate document and printing it out on a color printer after
changing the identity information. In most cases, it’s another person’s birth
certificate that the touts would used to register another person. Investigation
also revealed that Driver’s licence of those who dies in an accident but
recovered by Road Safety officers at accident scenes are also used and replaced
with a new applicant.
Last March, the FRSC Corps Marshal and chief
executive, Mr. Osita Chidoka, unveiled plans by his agency to replace the old
driver’s licence with a new one with biometric and security features.
According to him, the plan would bring sanity
to the system through the introduction of a new driver’s licensing scheme with
improved security features which would make licenses difficult to forge.
He explained that with the new standard and
unique features, the Nigerian driver’s licence could also be used as
identification anywhere in the world. “The new driver’s licence has been
designed like the credit card. It has the Nigerian logo imprinted on it. There
is also the telephone number of the next of kin of the holder.
Aside the picture of the owner, it also has a
ghost image of the owner on the right lower level – this forms our new strategy
to curb international crime. If you are smart enough to change the picture, you
cannot change the ghost image and there are some words embedded on it that are
not known to the ordinary people,” he said, adding that as a deterrent “the
cost of faking the new licenses are higher than the price of acquiring the
original.”
Nigerians, however, have been sorely disappointed
at the false start of the scheme. They won’t forget in a hurry how an elated
Chidoka had boasted over seven months ago that the FRSC was prepared to roll
out the new regime because it had taken the FRSC a long time to get to where it
is. “Over the last one year, we have been training our personnel and deploying
V-Sat across the country and we have been testing the system since March 1,”
said Chidoka when the new driver’s licence and car registration numbers were
launched several months ago.
But the issue was laid to rest when FRSC
insisted on the uniformity in the design of the driver’s licence and vehicle
number plates and the establishment of central data base, hence a memorandum of
understanding was entered into with FRSC and the Lagos State Ministry of
Transportation for the production of number plates required in the state.
“There is no controversy about it. It is the
duty of the FRSC to design the driver’s licence and produce number plates,” a
Road Safety officer said at the Lagos Sector Command of the Corps. “We have
done our bit and handed the materials to the VIOs who are in charge of issuance
and distribution. This is an issue we’ve been addressing since February.”
Investigations by our correspondent shows
that the man-made cumbersomeness in obtaining the Drivers’ Licence was what
gave rise to syndicate who operates the project to make money from the users.
The licence and vehicle registration numbers
are not easily available to Nigerians who need them. Many complain that they
have started the online processing for the new driver’s licenses in accordance
with the directive but could not complete it and have been compelled to drive
with their old licenses.
The activities of the touts are causing a
huge hole in the pocket of the Federal government as the nation loses money to
the syndicates issuing fake driver’s licenses across the country. FRSC boss,
Chidoka, has long confirmed this as well. He said the online processing as well
as physical and biometric identification was aimed at blocking the loopholes in
the old system.
Though the payments for the new Drivers
Licence are done through the bank, fees for the vehicle registration plate
numbers are already being manipulated.
Chidoka said that the new driver’s licence
costs N6, 000 for vehicles while the licence for motorcyclists costs N3, 000.
Fresh vehicle registration numbers, according to him, costs N15, 000 while
renewal costs N10, 000, stressing that these are all one-off payments. While
maintaining that the FRSC does not issue the licenses nor sell number plates
but only designs them, he also affirmed that the Corps does not determine the
prices.
According to our investigation, both FRSC and
the Joint Tax Board set the prices. The Lagos Sector Commander of Nigeria's
Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr Nseobong Akpabio few months ago said the era
of obtaining drivers’ licences and vehicle plate numbers via the back door, is
over.
He said intending applicants for the two
products should go through the right channels to procure them to avoid fakes.
"Gone were the days of getting the
drivers licence and number plates by proxy or through short cuts.
"Our new machines nationwide do not
accept passport photographs for capturing, except the physical appearance of
the applicant," Akpabio said.
He advised the applicants not to patronize
touts or give money to any officer to help in procuring the products as it
would be fakes.
He also said that any FRSC official caught
aiding such illegality would be in deep trouble. Akpabio said that applicants
might fill the form online through www.nigeriadrivers license.org or visit the
nearest FRSC drivers license centre, Vehicle Inspection Office or the State
Board of Internal Revenue.
The FRSC boss said that old driver's license
and number plates would become invalid as from 30 September.
"All old driver's license and number
plates cease to be valid after the 30 September 2013," says the FRSC boss.
He said that the new license and number
plates would create a central databank where correct information of a vehicle
and the owner could be got at any time.
On Monday, the Lagos Sector Command of the
FRSC flagged off the new commercial driver's licence-class 'E'- at the Ikotun
Motor Park.
Akpabio told the audience that the class 'E'
licence was introduced to eradicate quack drivers and achieving the aim of
reducing road crashes by 50 per cent.
"The class 'E' driver's licence was
introduced to know the professional drivers from the unqualified and
inexperienced.
"Some accidents on the road are usually
caused by unqualified drivers and with the introduction of the new class 'E'
driver's licence, this will be reduced," he said.
The Sector Commander said that photocopy of
the new drivers licence would not be accepted on demand, because "it is
like the currency whereby the original cannot be at home and the photocopy
accepted for transaction.
"It is illegal to present photocopy of
your licence and keep the original at home for nobody can go to the market with
the photocopy of our currency."
He condemned night travelling, saying that in
the case of any eventuality, there might not be quick response.
He emphasized the use of seat belts as they
help in case of crashes.
The Lagos State Chairman of the National
Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Mr Tajudeen Agbede, told the launch
that the Union would collaborate with the FRSC in obtaining the new drivers
licence easily.
"We are ready to parley with the FRSC to
work out arrangements that would ensure that our members do not suffer before
they get the new drivers licence," Agbede said.
He advised his members not to patronize touts
as they might end up getting fake licences that would put them in trouble.
Agbede appealed to the FRSC not to relent in
its effort on public education to the drivers, rather than strict enforcement.
"Public education is the surest way to
curb road accidents. Enforcement will only give temporary pain, but message and
information can be gathered during public campaigns and this will always be in
the memory of drivers," Agbede said.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC),
the body established by law in 1988 to prevent accidents and promote road
safety Nigeria, includes the Federal Road Safety Corps.
The Commission is the policy-making arm of
the organization while the Corps is responsible for operations and for
implementing the Commission’s policies.
In correspondence with the Research
Directorate, the FRSC's senior manager responsible for the day-to-day operation
of the organization the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive explained that the
FRSC was also mandated to design and produce driver’s licences for all states
in the country as well as maintain a driver's licence database.
However, a solicitor and lawyer, Chinedu
Okereke explained that, over time, the FRSC has taken on the power to issue drivers'
licences, a function that constitutionally lies with the states.
A coalition of civil society and
non-governmental organizations has also reportedly argued that the FRSC's
practice of issuing driver's licences is an aberration of the 1999 Constitution
.The solicitor indicated that the FRSC is being taken to court for assuming a
state function and deriving the revenues associated with issuing driver's
licences and vehicle licence plates .In September 2011, the coalition is
reported to have ordered the immediate suspension of the FRSC's plans to
implement a new driver’s licence until after the case had been heard in court .
The solicitor stated that the court date was
set for 9 February 2012 and added that the FRSC has gone ahead and implemented
the new driver's licence system even though they were waiting to go to court.
How to
Obtain the New Federal Driver's Licence
Both the FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief
Executive and the Unit Commander stated that, to apply for a driver's licence,
applicants must be at least 18 years old. First-time applicants must attend an
accredited driving school.
The Corps Marshal and Chief Executive
specified that it must be an FRSC-accredited driving school, after which the
applicant will be sent to a vehicle inspection officer for a driving test. The
FRSC website indicates that for each new driver's licence application, an
applicant can retake the driving test up to three times, each time following a
30-day waiting period.
If, according to the Corps Marshal and Chief
Executive, the applicant passes the driving test, he or she will be given a
certificate from the vehicle inspection officer before proceeding to complete
the driver's licence application at a driver's licence centre.
However, the Unit Commander differed in saying
that, after attending driving school; applicants apply for what he termed a
six-month "test license," also called a learner’s permit. If, during
the first six-month period, the vehicle inspection officer finds the applicant
is not driving to standard, the applicant will be given another six-month test
licence or learner's permit.
Once applicants demonstrate that they can
drive "satisfactorily," they are sent to the Board of Internal
Revenue to pay for the licence. The Unit Commander also pointed out that he has
not yet seen a copy of a learner’s permit and that, because information on the
new procedures, including how to obtain a learner's permit, has not yet been
fully publicized, it may not be easy for members of the public to access
information about it.
Application
Process and Fees
As mentioned, the Corps Marshal and Chief
Executive said that the driver's licence application form is to be completed at
a driver's licence centre, which, according to the Unit Commander, is located
in every state capital. Applicants then
pay the fee for the new driver's licence, which the Corps Marshal and Chief
Executive says costs N6, 350 approximately and can be paid online or at
designated banks. The FRSC website indicates that, after completing the
application form, applicants can pay online using a credit or debit card or
through an e-Wallet account. However, the Unit Commander said that the licence
fee is to be paid following successful completion of the test licence at the
Board of Internal Revenue and that it costs N6, 500. The FRSC website states
that the new licence costs N6, 000.
According to the Corps Marshal and Chief
Executive, once payment has been made, the completed forms are to be presented
to the Board of Internal Revenue and a vehicle inspection officer at the
driver's licence centre for endorsement. The FRSC website specifies that the
applicant is to present the completed application form to the Board of Internal
Revenue and the vehicle inspection officer. The Unit Commander added that the
required documents include proof of payment, the applicant's first learner's
permit and, if applicable, the second learner's permit.
Once the application has been endorsed,
applicants must go to an FRSC officer at the driver's licence centre for a
"biometric data capture". This involves taking the applicant's
portrait, fingerprints, and signature. The Unit Commander clarified that the
prints of all fingers are required. The FRSC website states that "passport
photographs cannot be used to process the new driver's license".
Following the biometric data capture,
applicants are then issued a temporary driver's licence that is valid for 60
days. They are also instructed to pick up their official licence at the Board
of Internal Revenue office before the temporary licence expires.
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