The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has pledged free legal aid to motorists harassed by police over the controversial tinted glass permit, describing the policy as illegal and unconstitutional.
Through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law, the NBA said the police lacked the authority to impose fees or renewals on motorists, calling the move a revenue-driven scheme.
Chairman of the NBA’s Public Interest Litigation Committee, Olukunle Edun (SAN), said on Thursday that the association would challenge the enforcement in court. He urged citizens harassed over the permit to approach any of the NBA’s 130 branches for pro bono legal assistance.
“It has been estimated that the police may generate at least N3bn within a month from monies collected, thus turning the police into a revenue-generating agency of the Federal Government instead of focusing on the more serious issue of crime,” he said.
The NBA, in a letter to the Inspector General of Police dated October 2, reminded the force of a pending suit before the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging the legality of the permit. The association stressed that the police were duty-bound to maintain the status quo until judgment is delivered.
The suit, filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the NBA, seeks a declaration that the 1991 Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Decree is unconstitutional and inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution. It also asks for an injunction restraining police from further arrests, harassment, or extortion under the policy.
NBA lawyer Godspower Eroga alleged in an affidavit that the police planned to divert payments into a private account rather than the Treasury Single Account. He also noted that factory-installed tinted windows in modern vehicles make the regulation impractical, while many senior officers drive SUVs with tinted windows without permits.
The association further condemned the impounding of a judge’s vehicle in Asaba, Delta State, on the first day of enforcement, describing it as “an embarrassing and avoidable situation.”
NBA-SPIDEL added that a last-minute effort to secure an injunction was unsuccessful, after a Federal High Court vacation judge declined to hear the case. It urged the judiciary to act decisively in urgent matters of public interest to prevent what it called chaos caused by unlawful policies.
