The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has dragged the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to court over the reintroduced tinted glass permit policy, which was earlier suspended.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun, announced the reintroduction of the policy earlier in the year, fixing June 1, 2025 for take-off.
The outgoing Force Public Relations Officer and a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DCP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made the announcement in a statement.
The commencement date for the policy, which is to cost motorists N16,000, was later postponed to October 1, 2025.
The policy was suspended following abuse by operatives of the NPF.
The position of the NBA to head to court was confirmed by the Chairman of the NBA-Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN).
Ananaba said the litigation would be pursued to its logical conclusion.
He urged the police to respect the judicial process and suspend the enforcement of the policy pending the court’s decision.
He said in a statement on Friday: “In April 2025, the Inspector General of Police purportedly introduced a policy which mandated members of the Nigerian motoring public to apply for and obtain annual motor tinted glass permits from the Nigeria Police Force for a fee.
“The Inspector General of Police in the same month purportedly launched a digital portal (possap.gov.ng) through which the application for tinted glass permits was to be processed.
“We are being informed that the portal and the policy are to be managed by a private vendor, and there is no indication that the funds generated from the enforcement of the purported policy will go into the Federation Account.”
The NBA alleged that although enforcement of the policy has not started, “there have been several reported cases of harassment and extortion of citizens by the policemen in checkpoint duty on the basis of this same policy.”
The body alleged that permit payments are being routed into a private account belonging to Parkway Projects rather than into the Federation Account or the Treasury Single Account.
It argued that the directive violates constitutionally guaranteed rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of movement and property.
It also questioned the legal basis for the initiative, noting that it appears to rely on the Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act, a 1991 military decree, which the NBA says may not meet the constitutional standard of being “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.”
Acting through SPIDEL, the NBA filed a public interest suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja on September 2, 2025.
The case is captioned: “The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association v. The Inspector General of Police & Anor (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/182/2025).”
The suit has yet to be assigned to a judge.
