The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, have agreed to tighten collaboration to curb the abuse, forgery, and illegal use of diplomatic and official number plates across Nigeria.
The agreement was reached on Monday, 15 June 2026, during a courtesy visit by the Ministry’s Spokesperson, Mr. Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa to the FRSC Corps Public Education Officer, DCC Osondu Ohaeri, at the FRSC National Headquarters in Abuja. Mr. Ebienfa also met with *Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, Assistant Corps Marshal Operations, to discuss joint enforcement and verification measures.
ACM Operations Ogungbemide disclosed that recent FRSC operations in several states led to the interception of 1,000 vehicles using fake diplomatic plates, unauthorized government plates, cloned documents, and other fraudulent vehicle IDs.
Mr. Ebienfa said the Ministry is already running a campaign against unauthorized use of ambassadorial titles, fake diplomatic passports, and counterfeit number plates by unaccredited persons.
*Diplomatic abuse now a security threat*
Both agencies warned that misuse of diplomatic privileges goes beyond protocol violations. It undermines Nigeria’s diplomatic credibility, tarnishes the country’s international image, and poses a national security risk by enabling crime and identity concealment.
To address this, the Ministry and FRSC agreed to deepen information sharing between diplomatic accreditation records and vehicle registration databases for real-time authentication.
“Strengthen verification procedures for diplomatic vehicles and personnel and establish a robust monitoring framework to regulate issuance and use of diplomatic number plates.
“Launch public awareness campaigns to educate stakeholders on proper use and legal consequences of forgery and impersonation.”
The Ministry stressed that diplomatic number plates are the exclusive property of accredited missions, international organizations, and duly recognized diplomatic personnel. Privileges and immunities must not be sold, transferred, or used by unauthorized persons.
“The protection of Nigeria’s diplomatic credibility, national security, and international reputation remains a priority,” the Ministry stated. Members of the public are urged to report suspected cases of abuse to law enforcement agencies.
