The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has issued a condemnation of the Nigeria Police Force’s planned resumption of motor vehicle tinted glass permit enforcement, labeling it a “grave affront to the authority of the court and a subversion of the rule of law.” This strong reaction follows a December 15, 2025, press release by Force Public Relations Officer CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, announcing that enforcement of the previously suspended policy would restart on January 2, 2026.
Policy originated in April 2025 when the Inspector General of Police introduced a requirement for motorists to obtain annual tinted glass permits via an online platform, with initial enforcement set for June 1, 2025, later postponed to October 2, 2025.
The NBA highlighted that it triggered “widespread reports of harassment, extortion and civil rights violations, particularly against young Nigerians.” The Nigeria Police Force justified the temporary suspension as a voluntary measure “in the interest of responsibility, transparency, and public convenience,” allowing time for permit applications, but cited a recent “disturbing increase in criminal activities involving vehicles fitted with unauthorised tinted glass” for the resumption.
On September 2, 2025, the NBA, through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), filed Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1821/2025 at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the policy’s legality and constitutionality. The suit argues that the police lack authority to impose fees on citizens, deeming the policy “unconstitutional, illegal, extortionate and detrimental to citizens’ economic well-being,” rooted in the outdated Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act of 1991—a military-era law that fails constitutional standards. It further contends that payments go to a private account rather than the Treasury Single Account, adding to “multiple layers of taxation” amid economic hardship.
Additionally, on October 3, 2025, the Federal High Court, Warri Division, in Suit No: FHC/WR/CS/103/2025, ordered parties to “maintain the status quo” and restrained enforcement pending an interlocutory application.
Following public outrage, the Inspector General convened a meeting with NBA leaders and police officials, agreeing to suspend enforcement pending court outcomes; this was affirmed in court on December 12, 2025, by police counsel Chief Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, before Justice M.S. Liman, leading to the motion for injunction being struck out and judgment reserved.
In a statement signed by NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), the association described the police announcement as confirming a “troubling disregard for the rule of law and due process” despite ongoing proceedings, calling it “deeply disturbing” that it came “barely one working day after the court relied on the undertaking of the defendants’ counsel.”
“This volte-face represents a reckless overreach, a contemptuous disregard for the authority of the court, and a serious assault on institutional integrity,” the NBA stated, citing the Supreme Court case Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt. 18) 621 to affirm that court undertakings bind defendants. The NBA demanded the Inspector General immediately withdraw Hundeyin’s statement, halt all policy actions pending final court determinations, and directed branches and its Human Rights Committee to offer legal aid to harassed citizens.
It threatened committal proceedings against IGP Kayode Egbetokun and CSP Hundeyin if ignored, plus professional discipline for misleading counsel, and urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene to prevent judicial undermining and economic hardship.
