THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Many Nigerians living in the diaspora hold Nigerian driving licences which they use to drive anytime they are visiting their home country. However, it has been revealed that many of these driving licences are not genuine even though they were obtained at the agency officially responsible for issuing the document.
A Berlin-based legal practitioner, Efosa Ogieriakhi, recently revealed to The African Courier that he was presently handling several cases involving fake driving licences from Nigeria which were submitted to the German authorities for recognition.
Barrister Ogieriakhi, who hails from Nigeria, said that there were many cases across Germany in which the authorities had found out that the driving licences submitted were fake after checking up with the Nigerian authorities.
READ ALSO Beware of fake Nigerian driving licence, Berlin lawyer warns Nigerians in Europe
Unfortunately, most of the affected persons did not know that their documents were fake because they were issued at the appropriate office that is responsible for the issuance of driving licence, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
However, some unscrupulous workers at the agency acting in collusion with so-called ‘agents’ lure those seeking driving licence with the promise of a stress-free application process if they pay more than the amount normally charged by the FRSC for driving licence.
Even while driving with the fake driving licences, one could be arrested by officials of the FRSC or the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO).
Here’s how you can check online if your Nigerian driving licence is authentic:
• Visit www.nigeriadriverslicence.org
• Click on DL Application
• Click on Re-Issue of Driver’s Licence from the drop down
• Supply Driver’s Licence Number and Date of Birth in the dialog box that opens
• Click on search
• Click Ok from the pop up box, after confirming the Drivers Licence number to be correct
• This will pull up your information as supplied when you processed the New Driver’s Licence
• If it does not pull up your data, it means your New Driver’s Licence is Fake and is not in FRSC Data Base
NOTE: This check is only for the NEW DRIVER’S LICENCE (D)
Kola Tella
