The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has detailed how a Toyota Camry stolen in Benue State in 2015 was successfully recovered in Abakaliki, 11 years after the incident.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, FRSC Acting Corps Public Education Officer, Felicia Kalu, said the breakthrough came during a routine verification at the National Vehicle Identification Scheme (NVIS) Desk Office.
According to her, the recovery process began when officials of the Motor Licensing Authority from the Ebonyi State Board of Internal Revenue presented documents for vehicle registration, prompting standard checks by the NVIS Desk Officer.
The verification, she said, exposed inconsistencies in the vehicle’s records, which upon further scrutiny revealed that it was originally registered to Adeka Akoji.
“The original owner was immediately contacted and confirmed that the vehicle had been stolen from him in Benue on Aug. 13, 2015,” she stated.
Following the discovery, the FRSC alerted the Nigeria Police Force, leading to a coordinated recovery operation.
“Acting on the information, the FRSC alerted the Nigeria Police, leading to a coordinated operation.
“Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad in Abakaliki subsequently recovered the vehicle on March 27, 2026, at about 1:50 p.m.,” the statement added.
The vehicle, a Toyota Camry saloon, had been re-registered with a different plate number, NKE500AE, after originally bearing MKD659AG, in what authorities described as an attempt to conceal its identity.
“The vehicle… was found to have been re-registered with a new plate number… in an apparent attempt to conceal its identity,” she said.
Reacting to the development, Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed described the recovery as proof of the effectiveness of the NVIS platform.