The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has declared a crackdown on cars with tinted windows and covered number plates in an effort to combat escalating criminal activity such as abduction.
SP Josephine Adeh, the command’s spokesman, issued a statement on X.com late Tuesday warning vehicle owners in the FCT to remove any tinted glass from their vehicles or risk having them seized.
She said, “For the time being, the usage of tinted glasses in automobiles is illegal.
“If your car has tinted glasses, please remove them to prevent having it detained by the authorities.
“This is one of the measures implemented to combat the rising incidents of ‘one chance’ and other criminal activities in the FCT.”
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, reaffirmed this command during a suspect parade on Tuesday.
In a video posted alongside the statement, Disu stated that many of the victims rescued from kidnappers cited the use of tinted windows as a factor that made it difficult for people to recognize them as being in distress, and that criminals frequently used vehicles with covered numbered plates to carry out their operations without being traced.
He said, “We are clamping down on all commercial vehicles and everybody tinting their vehicles. We need to see people in their vehicles; tinted glass is contributing to a lot of lawlessness.
“A lot of the kidnapped victims that we have rescued have given us their word that the tinted glass made it impossible for people to know that they were in distress.
“A lot of them at the same time covered their number plates, or some deliberately did not put number plates on their vehicle.”
The CP issued a stern warning to residents, stating that the enforcement of the ban on tinted windows, covered number plates, and unregistered vehicles would be vigorously carried out moving forward.
