Have you ever been in a situation where you need to get the driver of that car by all means? Or maybe there is a car you saw on the road whose driver isn’t obeying necessary traffic laws or causing problems and you want to report the person behind the wheels to the appropriate authorities in your state?
Most Nigerian drivers drive recklessly (especially in Lagos State) and this is a known fact all over the country. Although the Federal Road Safety Corps and the transport management agencies of various Nigerian states are trying their best to curb this menace, they need the help of the citizens too to report various traffic offenders to them.
One of the worst scenarios which happens on most Nigerian roads almost daily is the “Hit And Run” problem. In case you see this, you must report these drivers to the appropriate authorities in your vicinity.
That being said, it is very necessary to arm yourself with valid information before proceeding to report traffic offenders to the appropriate bodies, and one of the easiest ways to get the details of these offenders is from the plate numbers on their vehicles.
In this article, we will provide you with all the methods you can use to check the owner of a car using its plate number in Nigeria. We will explore different methods, including online platforms and government agencies, and provide you with step-by-step instructions to ensure a successful search.
How To Check Car Number Plate Owner In Nigeria (Guide)
1. Report To The Nearest Police Station
One of the easiest ways to get the owner of any car in Nigeria is by reporting to any police station near you. On getting to the station, present them with the details of the car plate number and the reason why you’re filing the report: e.g hit and run driver, robbery, car snatching, and many others.
Most of the time, the Nigerian police will swing into action, and with the help of certain tools and contacts they have which aren’t available to the public, they will lay their hands on information to get the culprit and eventually arrest him/her based on the outcome of their investigation.
2. Contact The FRSC
The Federal Road Safety Corps as the name implies is a Nigerian agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of Nigerians on the road. They are also responsible for issuing driver’s licenses, car plate numbers, and other car papers in Nigeria.
Since they are the ones who issued the plat number to the offender, the agency has the power to get you all the details of the person in question but before they can disclose any personal information of the alleged culprit, you must be able to provide credible and convincing evidence to the officers on the ground.
When you eventually get the information from the FRSC, then you would have to contact the police and hand over these details to them, so they can fasten up the process of bringing the offender to book.
3. Hire A Private Investigator
If the above methods fail, then hiring a private investigator will be your best bet if you really want to get justice.
Although I don’t have any information on people or firms who can do these kinds of jobs in Nigeria, I believe that they’re out there, and getting them shouldn’t be that hard if you know someone who has been into this kind of problem before.
You can also look up a list of notable private investigators in Nigeria on Google and other search engines and you might get one. However, you should and must be very careful as many fraudsters are parading as investigators with the sole aim of defrauding unsuspecting citizens who request their services.
4. Get A Court Order
Getting a court order isn’t a direct way to get the owner of a car with their plate number in Nigeria but it certainly helps to speed up the process.
This court order is simply a document from any recognized court in Nigeria ordering the police or any related national agencies like the FRSC to give you the necessary details or information you may need as they (the court) have validated your claims.
How To Check Car Plate Number Owner Online
With technology taking over most areas of our lives, getting information about the person and car model of the car attached to a plate number in Nigeria has become quite easy.
The Federal Road Safety Corps which is a federal institution responsible for issuing licenses and plate numbers in the country has developed an online portal that makes it easier to get the details of a car by simply inputting the plate number in the portal.
To get the details of a registered plate number in Nigeria, follow the steps below.
- Visit the FRSC Car Plate Verification Portal [https://nvis.frsc.gov.ng/VehicleManagement/VerifyPlateNo]
- Next, input the plate number of the car you want to check in the specified field.
- After that click [Submit]
- Note down the details of the car provided on the portal.
If you prefer to use SMS, then there is also a way to check the details behind a car plate number simply via SMS on your device.
To do this, simply send “Verify *Plate Number*” to 33324 (without quotes). Replace *Plate Number* with the plate number of the car you want to check.
For example, if you want to check the details of a car with the plate number “KJA194AC”, simply send “Verify KJS194AC” (without quotes) to 33324 and you will get a reply within a few seconds or minutes in some cases with the details of that particular car.
And that’s how you can check the plate number owner online or via SMS on your mobile device. You can also use this method to verify vehicle ownership with the plate number in Lagos or any other state in the country.
Conclusion
One of the major ways to stay safe on Nigerian roads is by ensuring that you and your loved ones are being careful at all times and in some unfortunate cases, you’ll have to act fast to catch whoever tries to endanger your life or the lives of your loved ones.
The best way to get any defaulter on Nigerian roads is by noting the plate number as soon as you can and reporting it to the right authorities as stated above.
It is also important to know that information of this type is usually very confidential so you have to provide verifiable and convincing evidence while requesting such details.
If you prefer to do it yourself, there are other easier online and SMS channels which we have also outlined above that can help you get the details of the car registered to a specific plate number in Nigeria.
While there is currently no app to check plate number in Nigeria that we know of, you can simply use the FRSC plate number verification portal to verify any plate number of choice from your internet-enabled device.
