AN undisclosed number of robbers on Friday gained access into the Ogoja office of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Cross River State and removed some of the sensitive machines used in producing driving licence.
The robbers, according to a source in Ogoja, who identified himself as Kingston Ndoma, gained access to the office after cutting the burglary on one of the windows.
An FRSC source told Southern City News that the robbers took away the biometric and demographic desktop computers used by the centre.
Ndoma said the robbers took advantage of a downpour that lasted all through Friday night to carry out their plot without drawing the attention of the neighbours.
He said, “Although the FRSC has not come out to say they suspect foul play, we believe it must have link with those who are producing fake driving licence for unsuspecting drivers in the state.
“They probably came in when the rain was heavy and stole those machines. They gained access through one of the windows after cutting the burglary.”
The state Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr. Ikechukwu Igwe, had last Thursday said that over 60 per cent of driving licences used by drivers in Cross River State were fake.
Igwe noted that the licences were not captured in the data base of the commission.
“I have discovered that about 60 per cent of driving licences in this state are fake. They are produced by touts and are not captured in our data base.
“During last week’s enlightenment campaign with tanker drivers, we discovered that out of over 70 licences that were checked, more than 50 of them were fake,” he said.
The sector commander’s comment was followed by allegations by motorists that the high cost of procuring driving licence might have encouraged touts to go into the business of producing fake licences.
When contacted, the state sector commander warned members of the public to be wary of those who approached them for driving licence.
Igwe confirmed the items stolen to include the biometric and demographic desktop computers used by the centre.
He said, “The Ogoja office of the FRSC was actually bugled last Friday night. The robbers made away with some of the sensitive machines used in the production of driving licence.
“The command is warning the public to be mindful of those who will approach them to issue driving licence through the shortcut without being captured.”
When asked if he suspected any group of persons to be responsible to the crime, Igwe said it was not impossible for the cartel issuing fake driving licence to be involved in the bugling.
Punch
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