Two stolen vehicles have been successfully recovered in Calabar, Cross River State by the Federal Road Safety Corps through its National Vehicle Identification Scheme, which showed disparities in the names of the registered owners and the suspects who came to register the same vehicles in their own names.
The vehicles, both Toyota Highlanders, were stolen on different occasions in Ibadan, Oyo State and Aba, Abia State and on different dates.
In a press statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, the NVIS Desk Officer detected the first Toyota Highlander was registered in the name of Tobechukwu Okeke, with plate number KSF533AC, chassis number JTEHF21A410031320.
According to Kazeem, the vehicle, which was alleged to have been stolen in 2014 at Ibadan, was only discovered on July 24, 2017 when the suspected buyer, Chika Andaline Onyeama, came to reregister the same vehicle with the same chassis number already registered to Tobechukwu Okeke.
He added that the second Toyota Highlander, which was registered in the name of Omadewu Jeff, with plate number YAB993BX, chassis number JTEEP21A040047924, was stolen in Aba in April 2017, but discovered on July 21, 2017 when the suspected buyer came to register it and recovered on July 25, 2017.
Kazeem noted that the Acting Sector Commander, Calabar Sector, RS6.2, Lucky O. Ugenlo, disclosed that the suspected buyer of the second vehicle, Simon Peter, had a plate number (KTA766GS) already assigned to the vehicle.
In view of the successful recovery of the vehicles, now in Police custody, with the suspected buyers, the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, emphasized the need for every vehicle to have a comprehensive registration papers. He added that it is only in this manner that they are easily recovered when stolen.