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According to Osigwe, \u201cthe planned resumption of enforcement is against the grain of an ongoing court case and an understanding reached between the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigeria Police Force.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the policy, as designed and implemented, was nothing more than a revenue drive. \u201cThe Nigeria Police Force is a law enforcement agency. It is not one meant to generate revenue,\u201d Osigwe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is more worrisome that the implementation of the policy requires that the money be paid into a private account. There is no indication that the policy is being done as a public-private initiative, no indication of transparency, and no explanation as to what happened to the earlier permits issued by the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questioning the rationale for renewing previously issued permits, the NBA President added: \u201cIf, according to the police, this policy is for security reasons, what happened to the validity of the earlier permit granted by the police? Why do you have to renew it? We believe they are setting up members of the police, empowering them on the streets and on the roads to extort money from civilians and harass them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osigwe also faulted the timing of the announced resumption, saying it was calculated to worsen the plight of Nigerians during the festive season. \u201cWe believe that the purported notice of resumption is a calculated attempt to make life very difficult for people this festive period,\u201d he said. \u201cBy saying enforcement will start from January 2, the police are simply telling Nigerians to rush and get the so-called permit.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that Nigerians were already \u201cgroaning under harsh economic conditions, trying to feed their families and travel for the festive season,\u201d yet were now being compelled to \u201caccommodate an extortionate process to obtain this permit.\u201d<\/p>\n Osigwe further questioned why, if the policy was genuine, the permit could not be integrated into routine vehicle documentation. \u201cWhy can\u2019t this permit be obtained at the point of renewal of vehicle particulars if there is no other motive behind it?\u201d he asked, describing the entire scheme as riddled with \u201copacity.\u201d<\/p>\n The NBA President warned that the legality of the policy was already before the Federal High Court, Abuja, where hearing had been concluded and judgment reserved. He frowned at the fact that proceeds from the permit were allegedly being paid into a personal account rather than a government-approved revenue account, describing it as \u201cdeeply troubling\u201d and a red flag for corruption.<\/p>\n In a detailed statement, the NBA said the Inspector General of Police had a constitutional duty to respect the judicial process and avoid actions capable of pre-empting the court\u2019s decision. The association recalled that its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) instituted an action on September 2, 2025, before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No: FHC\/ABJ\/CS\/1821\/2025, between Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association v. Inspector General of Police & Anor, challenging the legality of the Tinted Glass Permit policy.<\/p>\n The NBA said the suit questioned the lack of constitutional or statutory authority for the police to impose fees on citizens under the guise of enforcement. \u201cThe NBA contends that the policy is unconstitutional, obnoxious, illegal, extortionate, and a threat to citizens\u2019 rights and economic well-being,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n Among other grounds, the NBA argued that the Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act of 1991 is a military-era decree that no longer meets democratic standards under the 1999 Constitution; that the National Assembly lacked legislative competence to enact it; and that enforcement would \u201cinitiate disorder and extortion, given the police\u2019s long and sordid history of extortion, bribery, harassment, intimidation and extrajudicial killings.\u201d<\/p>\n The association further described the policy as \u201ca brazen revenue-generating drive by the Nigeria Police Force, which by law is not a revenue-generating organisation,\u201d adding that it was \u201cparticularly worrisome that the fees are paid into the account of a private company.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the NBA, the levy imposed by the permit \u201cadds to Nigeria\u2019s ever-increasing layers of taxation, portrays Nigeria as a difficult place to do business, and imposes further hardship on Nigerians already struggling economically.\u201d It also warned that the policy undermines tax reforms scheduled to take effect in January 2026 by increasing the multiplicity of taxes and taxing agencies.<\/p>\n The statement noted that modern vehicles are imported with factory-fitted tinted glass, yet \u201cthe police discountenance this in their drive to generate revenue for themselves and a few individuals.\u201d It also raised concerns over payments allegedly made into PARKWAY PROJECTS, Account No: 4001017918, instead of the Treasury Single Account, calling it a serious transparency issue.<\/p>\n The NBA recalled that on October 3, the Federal High Court, Warri Division, ordered parties to maintain the status quo in Suit No: FHC\/WR\/CS\/103\/2025, John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Inspector General of Police, restraining the police from enforcing the policy pending determination of an interlocutory application.<\/p>\n According to the association, that order, coupled with public outrage, led the IGP to convene a meeting involving police authorities, their counsel and NBA representatives, where it was agreed that enforcement would be suspended pending the outcome of the cases.<\/p>\n The NBA said it was therefore \u201cshocking and disturbing\u201d that the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, announced the reactivation of enforcement from January 2, 2026. \u201cThis confirms the sad reality that the Nigeria Police Force continues to exhibit a troubling disregard for the rule of law and due process,\u201d the NBA said, describing the announcement as \u201cexecutive recklessness.\u201d<\/p>\n Consequently, the NBA warned that it would not hesitate to initiate contempt proceedings against the IGP and the Force Spokesperson if enforcement proceeds. It also directed all NBA branches and its Human Rights Committee to \u201cimmediately intervene and provide legal representation to any Nigerian harassed, arrested, impeded, or prosecuted\u201d under the policy.<\/p>\n \u201cShould the Inspector General of Police fail or refuse to heed this lawful admonition, the NBA will commence committal proceedings against the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, and CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, until they purge themselves of contempt,\u201d the statement said, adding that professional proceedings would also be initiated against any counsel found to have misled the court.<\/p>\n Osigwe emphasised that \u201cthe statement made in open court by Chief Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, constituted a judicial undertaking binding on the defendants,\u201d warning that any contrary action would amount to overreaching the court, as settled by the Supreme Court in Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt. 18) 621.<\/p>\n The NBA concluded by urging restraint. \u201cWe sincerely hope that the Nigeria Police Force will retrace its steps, respect the authority of the courts, and align its conduct with constitutional democracy and the rule of law,\u201d the association said, calling on President Tinubu to intervene \u201cas the planned resumption of the policy will not only be a slap in the face of the court but will also impose unjustified financial hardship on Nigerians.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to \u201ccall the Inspector General of Police to order\u201d over the planned resumption of enforcement of the Tinted Glass Permit policy, warning that the move amounts to an affront to the authority of the courts and an undue hardship on Nigerians. Speaking at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7701,7700,453,30,7699,7698,56],"class_list":["post-96663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-afam-osigwe","tag-festive","tag-igp","tag-nba","tag-permit","tag-tinted-glass","tag-tinubu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/96661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/download-3-300x200.webp\")