THE Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday, December 4, upheld a judgment barring the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DTRS), known as the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), from stopping vehicles, confiscating them, or imposing fines on motorists.
The judge, Oyejoju Oyewumi, while delivering the unanimous ruling on behalf of a three-member panel, affirmed the October 16, 2024, decision of the Federal High Court, which had restrained the VIO from harassing drivers on public roads. The appellate court dismissed the VIO’s appeal, ruling it lacked merit.
The dispute arose from a fundamental rights suit filed by human rights activist and lawyer Abubakar Marshal, who challenged the legality of the VIO’s actions on public highways.
The Federal High Court had in 2024, held that no law empowered the agency, its Vehicle Inspection Officers, or related authorities, to impound vehicles or impose fines.
The original ruling described such practices as illegal, oppressive, and a violation of citizens’ rights to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and property ownership.
Delivering the judgement in case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023 on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, the presiding judge, Nkeonye Evelyn Maha, held that no law empowered the respondents to carry out such activities.
“The actions of the first to fourth respondents, under the control of the fifth respondent, are not empowered by any law or statute to stop, impound, or confiscate the vehicles of motorists or impose fines on them,” she said.
The Federal High Court subsequently issued a restraining order against the respondents, to stop them and their agents from impounding or confiscating vehicles or imposing fines, declaring such actions as improper, illegal, and oppressive.
The court issued a perpetual injunction to uphold Nigerians’ rights to their freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and right to own property.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M