The press release issued on 15 December 2025 by the Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, announcing the resumption of enforcement of the suspended tinted glass permit policy with effect from 2 January 2026, is a troubling confirmation of the Nigeria Police Force’s persistent disregard for the rule of law and due process. This action, coming in the face of a pending suit before a court of competent jurisdiction, constitutes executive recklessness and an open affront to the authority and majesty of the court.
Despite being constitutionally charged with the enforcement of law and the maintenance of public order, the Nigeria Police Force continues to conduct itself in a manner that suggests contempt for judicial processes, constitutional governance, and citizens’ rights. The said press release portrays an institution and its leadership that appear unwilling to submit themselves to the law they are sworn to uphold.
A brief recount of the events leading to this development provides necessary context.
In April 2025, the Inspector-General of Police purportedly introduced a policy mandating all motorists to obtain and renew, on an annual basis, tinted glass permits through an online portal (http://possap.gov.ng). Enforcement was initially scheduled to commence on 1 June 2025, later deferred to 2 October 2025. Shortly thereafter, widespread reports emerged detailing harassment, extortion, intimidation, and gross violations of civil liberties—particularly against young Nigerians—by officers purportedly enforcing the policy.
Consequently, on 2 September 2025, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), acting through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), instituted an action before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1821/2025: Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association v. Inspector General of Police & Anor. The suit squarely challenges the legality, constitutionality, and propriety of the tinted glass permit policy.
Central to the NBA’s challenge is the absence of any constitutional or statutory authority empowering the Nigeria Police Force to impose levies, charge fees, or subject citizens to financial obligations under the guise of enforcing the policy. The NBA contends that the policy is unconstitutional, illegal, extortionate, oppressive, and inimical to citizens’ rights and economic well-being, and advances the following grounds:
a. The Motor Vehicles (Tinted Glass) Prohibition Act of 1991, upon which the policy is purportedly founded, is a military-era decree that fails to meet the democratic and constitutional justification requirements under Section 45 and other relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
b. The National Assembly lacks the requisite legislative competence to enact such a law, rendering the Act invalid and incapable of being deemed a law properly made under the Constitution.
c. Enforcement of the policy will inevitably promote extortion, harassment, and disorder, given the Nigeria Police Force’s documented history of bribery, intimidation, abuse of power, and extrajudicial actions.
d. The policy is nothing more than a revenue-generating scheme by the Nigeria Police Force, an institution that is not statutorily empowered to generate revenue. This concern is heightened by the fact that the fees are reportedly paid into the account of a private company, raising serious transparency and accountability issues.
e. The imposed levy constitutes an additional layer of taxation, exacerbating the economic hardship faced by Nigerians and reinforcing Nigeria’s reputation as a hostile environment for business and investment.
f. The policy undermines Nigeria’s ongoing tax reforms, scheduled to take effect in January 2026, by increasing the multiplicity of taxes and taxing authorities and further burdening individuals and businesses.
g. Nigeria largely imports modern vehicles that come equipped with factory-fitted tinted glass, a reality which the Police deliberately ignore in their revenue-driven enforcement efforts.
In light of the pending litigation, the decision of the Nigeria Police Force to unilaterally resume enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy amounts to a brazen disregard for judicial authority, an erosion of constitutional governance, and a dangerous precedent for executive lawlessness. Until the court pronounces on the legality of the policy, any attempt at enforcement is unlawful, contemptuous, and indefensible in a constitutional democracy.
