Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry and FRSC Launch Joint Crackdown on Fake Diplomatic Plates

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) met at the FRSC National Headquarters in Abuja and formalised a partnership to combat the illegal production and use of counterfeit diplomatic passports and vehicle number plates in Nigeria. Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa and senior FRSC officials, including Deputy Corps Marshal Osondu Ohaeri and Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, outlined a strategy that includes tighter verification of diplomatic vehicle registrations, integration of accreditation records with vehicle databases, and public sensitisation campaigns.

The agencies reported that recent nationwide enforcement operations intercepted roughly 1,000 vehicles for using fake diplomatic plates, unauthorized government plates, cloned registration documents and other fraudulent identification. Both parties warned that such abuse threatens national security, undermines diplomatic credibility and could facilitate criminal activity, and pledged ongoing collaboration to curb the practice.