Judges Uphold Ban on Vehicle Inspection Officers Stopping Motorists and Confiscating Vehicles

• The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a landmark ruling that stripped Vehicle Inspection Officers of powers to stop or fine motorists
• The judgment reaffirmed that only a court of competent jurisdiction could impose sanctions on road users
• Public interest lawyer Abubakar Marshal, whose rights were violated in December 2023, secured damages and a perpetual injunction against further harassment

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, upheld a ruling that barred the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from stopping motorists, confiscating vehicles, or imposing fines.

In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel ruled that there was no basis to overturn the Federal High Court’s judgment of October 16, 2024, which prohibited VIO officials from harassing road users.

The appeal filed by the VIO was dismissed for lacking merit in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi.

Federal High Court ruling on motorists’ rights

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Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court had earlier ruled that no law empowered VIO officials to stop, impound, confiscate, seize, or impose fines on motorists.

According to PUNCH, the ruling followed a fundamental rights suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023, filed by public interest lawyer, Abubakar Marshal.

Marshal told the court that VIO operatives forcefully stopped him at Jabi District on December 12, 2023, and confiscated his vehicle without lawful justification.

He asked the court to declare their actions wrongful, oppressive, unlawful, and a gross violation of his fundamental rights.

Court issues perpetual injunction

In granting the reliefs sought, Justice Maha restrained the DRTS, its agents, and assigns from impounding or confiscating vehicles or imposing fines on motorists, describing such actions as oppressive and unlawful.

The court also issued a perpetual injunction preventing further violations of Nigerians’ rights to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and the right to own property. The judge held that only a court of competent jurisdiction could impose sanctions or fines on motorists.

She further ruled that the respondents had violated the applicant’s constitutional right to own property under section 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

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Breach of constitutional rights

The court held that the respondents lacked statutory powers to impound vehicles or impose fines, stressing that doing so breached motorists’ rights to fair hearing, freedom of movement, and presumption of innocence under Sections 6(6)(b), 36(1), 36(8), 36(12), 41 and 42 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 2, 7(3), 12 and 14 of the African Charter.

Marshal, represented by a legal team led by Femi Falana (SAN), had sought N500 million in general and aggravated damages and an apology in three national newspapers. The court instead awarded N2.5 million in damages.

The respondents included the DRTS, its Director, the Abuja Area Commander, identified as Mr. Leo, the team leader, Mr Solomon Onoja, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Appeal dismissed

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the respondents lodged an appeal. The Court of Appeal dismissed the case on Thursday, thereby affirming the lower court’s decision.

This judgment reinforced the position that only courts of competent jurisdiction could impose fines or sanctions on motorists, marking a significant victory for road users’ rights in Abuja.

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Ushoppen supports VIO's virtual trade fair

Legit.ng earlier reported that over 60 vendors are counting their blessings as the newly launched all-inclusive digital store builder Ushoppen provided tech support to Vendors In Owerri (VIO) during the recently concluded three-day virtual trade fair.

The virtual trade fair successfully concluded, garnering heartwarming reviews from traders who leveraged Ushoppen's no-code e-commerce builder to create websites to sell their products.

Source: Legit.ng