Court orders Police to halt tinted glass permit crackdown

A Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to suspend its ongoing nationwide enforcement of the tinted glass permit, a move that has sparked relief and jubilation among motorists across the country.

The order, issued in suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025, was delivered by the court in a case filed by lawyer John Aikpokpo-Martins against the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Nigeria Police Force.

The suit challenges the legality of the ongoing enforcement drive, which has seen vehicles seized and motorists detained in several states.

The decision came just hours after police officers in Delta impounded the vehicle of a judicial officer, despite a similar pending lawsuit filed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) last month seeking to halt the exercise.

News of the ruling sparked widespread celebration on social media, with many Nigerians accusing the police of showing “insensitivity” by enforcing the policy amid the country’s harsh economic realities.

Some motorists also decried the difficulty of completing the registration process via the official portal, possap.gov.ng, describing it as unreliable and exploitative.

Others alleged that the exercise was a disguised tool for extortion and harassment by officers on the road.

However, a section of Nigerians backed the enforcement, arguing that tinted permits remain a vital security measure against kidnapping and armed robbery.

The NBA, in its suit, argued that the renewed enforcement of the tinted permit violates citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy, dignity, and freedom of movement, noting that the regulation is rooted in a 1991 military decree that contradicts the 1999 Constitution.

Despite the pending legal challenge, the police proceeded with nationwide enforcement, citing the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, 2004, as their legal backing.

According to police, the measure helps curb crime and enhance public safety.