A Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to maintain the status quo in a suit challenging the legality of the recently introduced tinted glass permit enforcement.
The suit was filed by lawyer John Aikpokpo-Martins, who argued that the police have no constitutional authority to impose annual renewals or fees for tinted glass permits. The order of the court comes just a day after the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) pledged to provide free legal services to Nigerians harassed by the police over what it described as an “illegal” scheme.
Through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), the NBA insisted that the enforcement of the tinted glass permit was unlawful and purely revenue-driven.
Olukunle Edun (SAN), Chairman of the NBA’s Public Interest Litigation Committee, stressed that the association would invoke the powers of the court to protect citizens from unlawful harassment.
“The Human Rights Committees of the 130 NBA branches across the country are ready to offer pro bono services to anyone who is harassed. It is estimated that the police could generate at least ₦3 billion in one month from this enforcement, thereby turning themselves into a revenue-generating agency instead of tackling crime,” Edun said in a statement.
The case is expected to set the tone for wider legal debates on the scope of police powers and citizens’ rights in Nigeria.
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