Nigeria: Tinted glass permit enforcement: NBA vs Police
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
Abuja — The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) are at loggerheads over a fresh police notice announcing that enforcement of the suspended tinted‑glass permit policy will resume on 2 January 2026.
The NBA, through President Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN, has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct Inspector‑General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to obey the courts, describing the police move as an affront to judicial authority. The association argues that the IGP has a constitutional duty to respect judicial processes and must not pre‑empt or undermine court decisions.
Background: On 7 October 2025 a Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, granted an interim injunction restraining the IGP and NPF from implementing the tinted‑glass permit policy slated to start on 6 October 2025. The order followed a motion by John Aikpokpo‑Martins, who claimed the policy was unlawful and burdensome. Justice H. Nganjiwa barred the defendants — IGP, NPF and their agents — from enforcing the policy pending hearing of the substantive motion. A parallel suit is also pending before the Federal High Court Abuja, currently adjourned for judgment.
NBA‑SPIDEL had earlier, on 2 September 2025, filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1821/2025 (Incorporated Trustees of NBA v. IGP & Anor), challenging the policy’s constitutionality. The association contends the Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act 1991 is a military‑era decree incompatible with democratic standards under Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution, that the National Assembly lacked competence to enact it, and that enforcement would lead to extortion, harassment and extra‑judicial actions by police — a force not meant to generate revenue. They also highlight that permit fees are being paid into a private account (Parkway Projects, 4001017918), raising transparency and corruption concerns.
The police, however, maintain no court order has stopped enforcement. Force PRO Benjamin Hundeyin said the IGP suspended implementation only as a courtesy to NBA and to give Nigerians time to regularise registrations, but the suspension has been exploited by criminals using tinted glass for kidnapping and other crimes — citing an Edo State incident where a tinted Lexus SUV resisted police, leading to gunfire that killed an inspector. Hundeyin stressed that until a court directs otherwise, enforcement will continue.
