Nigerian Bar Association Drags IGP to Court Over Controversial Tinted-Glass Permit

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has taken a decisive legal step against the Nigeria Police Force, filing a lawsuit to challenge the controversial tinted-glass permit policy introduced by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun. The association is seeking a court order to declare the policy illegal and a violation of the constitutional rights of Nigerian citizens.

The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by the NBA’s Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), is a direct response to a policy that requires motorists to obtain an annual permit for tinted vehicle glasses for a fee of ₦16,000. While the police have defended the policy as a measure to enhance security and streamline a process prone to abuse, the NBA argues it is unconstitutional, oppressive, and has become a tool for extortion.

According to a statement issued by the Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, Professor Paul Ananaba, SAN, the association’s legal action is grounded in the violation of citizens’ fundamental rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of movement, and property. He further contended that the policy, which relies on a military decree from 1991, may not be “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society” and should therefore not be enforced.

Beyond the constitutional arguments, the NBA also highlighted transparency concerns, stating that payments for the permits are allegedly being channeled to a private account belonging to a company, Parkway Projects, rather than into the Federation Account or the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The association also noted that despite the official enforcement date being shifted to October 2, there have been widespread reports of police officers harassing and extorting motorists on the basis of the new policy.

The lawsuit is a culmination of a resolution passed at the NBA’s National Executive Council meeting in August, where the association resolved to pursue legal action against the policy. As the suit awaits assignment to a judge, the NBA has urged the police to suspend the enforcement of the policy out of respect for the judicial process and to prevent further harassment of motorists across the country.