The Enugu State Police Command has impounded 195 vehicles for alleged violations of vehicle registration and number plate regulations, warning that the owners will face prosecution in accordance with the law.

The command disclosed this in a statement issued late Tuesday by its spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, following a statewide enforcement operation supervised by the Commissioner of Police, Mamman Giwa.

According to the statement, the exercise formed part of the nationwide enforcement of the ban on unregistered vehicles and those operating with covered, defaced, obscured, improperly affixed, unauthorised or missing number plates.

The police explained that the impounded vehicles included those without proper registration, those displaying only one number plate instead of the legally required two, and those with covered, defaced, obscured, unauthorised, or improperly affixed number plates.

“The affected vehicle owners will be charged to court and prosecuted accordingly,” the statement said.

The command noted that the operation was carried out in line with the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations and other relevant laws.

Commending the officers involved in the exercise, Giwa urged motorists to comply fully with vehicle registration and number plate requirements.

“He warned that the Command would sustain the enforcement and ensure that all offenders are prosecuted in accordance with the law,” the statement added.

The commissioner also recalled the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, mandating all state police commands to strictly enforce the ban on unregistered vehicles and prosecute violators.

According to the police, the directive was prompted by the security risks posed by unregistered and improperly identified vehicles, which are often linked to criminal activities and constitute breaches of traffic regulations.

Giwa further cautioned officers against extortion, harassment or any other form of misconduct during the enforcement exercise, warning that any personnel found culpable would face disciplinary action.

He equally advised motorists operating unregistered vehicles or using covered, defaced, obscured, unauthorised or improperly affixed number plates to comply with the law to avoid prosecution.

On Saturday, the Ogun State Police Command arrested 89 drivers for flouting the Inspector-General of Police’s directive on the crackdown on vehicles without registration number plates or with covered number plates.

The Command said such violations pose a threat to both local and national security.

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Gunmen have abducted three students of the Federal University of Lafia, with police rescuing one of the victims during a search-and-rescue operation in Nasarawa State.

The Nasarawa State Police Command disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesperson, SP Ramhan Nansel.

According to the statement, the students were abducted on Tuesday night from Living Seed Lodge, located in a bushy area on the outskirts of the students’ residential community in Lafia.

The command said it received a distress call at about 9:20 p.m. from the university’s Chief Security Officer, who reported that unidentified armed men had abducted the three students.

“Upon receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, CP Shetima Jauro Mohammed, psc, mnips, immediately ordered the deployment of tactical teams, patrol operatives, and other security personnel to the scene.

“The operatives swiftly mobilized and launched a coordinated search-and-rescue operation within the surrounding forest.

“The prompt response of the police led to the successful rescue of one of the abducted students.

“Efforts have since been intensified to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining two victims still in captivity and the arrest of the perpetrators,” the statement read.

The commissioner directed all operational and intelligence assets of the command to sustain the ongoing operation until the remaining victims were rescued unharmed.

He assured residents that the police would spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The command urged members of the public to remain calm and vigilant and to provide timely and credible information that could assist the ongoing operation.

Residents were also advised to promptly report any suspicious movement or activity to the nearest police station.

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The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday handed over 1,452 items recovered from the proceeds of crime to the Federal Ministry of Education to support schools across the country.

The recovered items, comprising 501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were formally presented to the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, at a ceremony in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Olukoyede said the items were recovered during the commission’s “Operation Eagle Flush,” a nationwide operation conducted in late 2024 against cybercrime and other financial offences.

He described the operation as the largest single operation ever undertaken by the commission.

“We are gathered here this afternoon to witness the handover to the Federal Ministry of Education of some recovered proceeds of crime duly forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, the operation led to the arrest of 792 suspects, including 193 foreign nationals, all of whom were investigated, prosecuted and convicted before the foreign nationals were deported after serving their jail terms.

Olukoyede said the decision to transfer the recovered items to the education ministry was in line with the Federal Government’s resolve to channel recovered assets into projects that directly benefit Nigerians.

“President Bola Tinubu made this decision fully conscious of the fact that children and the youth are the greatest victims of corruption and financial crimes. So, it should naturally be the first beneficiaries of the proceeds of such crime,” he said.

The EFCC chairman noted that the handover was not the first intervention from recovered assets directed at the education sector.

He recalled that a forfeited university was previously transferred to the Federal Government and converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.

“You all remember sometime last year, a whole university facility was forfeited to the Federal Government, and it was handed over to the Ministry of Education.

“Today, we have the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Kaduna State,” he said.

Olukoyede also said recovered proceeds of crime had supported the establishment of the student loan scheme through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

He stated that more than 1.4 million students had benefited from the initiative, arguing that improved access to education would help reduce the attraction of cybercrime among young Nigerians.

“So, today, those who never thought of going to school now have the opportunity to go to school.

“Potentially, 1.4 million young people have been taken out of the dockets of those who have the potential to commit financial crimes,” he said.

He added that the commission would continue to recover proceeds of crime and ensure they were deployed transparently.

“There is not a penny of forfeited or recovered proceeds of crime to be misappropriated or misused.

“On behalf of the management and staff of the EFCC, we promise transparency and accountability in the application of proceeds of crime,” Olukoyede said.

Receiving the items, Alausa commended the EFCC chairman for adopting a proactive approach to tackling corruption, particularly procurement-related offences and cybercrime.

“Beyond trying to be proactive in fighting corruption, beyond identifying where we have the most burden of corruption, you hear the chairman say all the time, the biggest part of corruption in government has to do with procurement,” the minister said.

He described education as central to the Federal Government’s economic agenda and said the President had deliberately directed recovered assets towards strengthening the sector.

“We have a President who believes so much in education. Education is the bedrock of the development of this country.

“As the President advances his agenda to build a $1tn economy, he knows educating the youth is a pillar of building that economy,” Alausa said.

The minister disclosed that the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, admitted about 3,000 students in its first academic session and is expected to increase its intake to over 5,000 students in its second year.

He also revealed that the initial N50bn seed funding for NELFUND came from recovered proceeds of crime.

“The first N50bn that started the Nigerian Education Loan Fund came from the EFCC. This fund would not have been there without your aggressiveness in pursuing criminals looting public funds. So, we’re converting stolen money to gains—gains to develop our country,” he said.

Alausa said the newly handed-over hostel facilities would be deployed to federal unity colleges across the country.

“We need these bunks. We need these mattresses. We need these beds in our Unity colleges. Chairman, thank you. We in the education sector have been the biggest beneficiary of this,” he said.

He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to ensuring that the recovered assets were used to improve access to quality education in line with the Federal Government’s education agenda.

The handover is part of the Federal Government’s policy of channelling forfeited assets into public projects, particularly in the education sector.

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