The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the renewed enforcement of the controversial tinted glass permit by the Nigeria Police Force, describing it as illegal, unconstitutional, and a revenue-driven scheme.
Through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), the association vowed to provide free legal representation to Nigerians harassed or extorted under the policy.
In a statement on Thursday, Chairman of the NBA Public Interest Litigation Committee, Olukunle Edun (SAN), said:
“We shall invoke the powers of the court to ensure the police do not trample on the rights of Nigerians. Any citizen harassed in the name of this illegal permit should contact any NBA branch nationwide. The Human Rights Committees of our 130 branches are ready to offer pro bono services.”
Edun alleged that the enforcement was designed to generate revenue, noting that police officers could raise at least ₦3 billion monthly through the scheme, in clear violation of their mandate to focus on crime prevention. He stressed that the matter is already before the court and described the police action as “lawless.”
In a letter to the Inspector General of Police dated October 2, 2025, the NBA reminded the force of the pending suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1821/2025 at the Federal High Court, Abuja, which challenges the legality of the 1991 Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Decree.
The suit argues that the law is inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and that motorists cannot be compelled to pay fees or renew permits.
Filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the NBA, the suit seeks a declaration that the police lack authority to impose fees and an injunction restraining further arrests or extortion.
Supporting affidavits alleged that the police intended to divert funds through a private account—Parkway Projects A/C No. 4001017918—instead of remitting payments into the government’s Treasury Single Account.
NBA lawyer, Godspower Eroga, further argued that the decree provides no measurable standard for tinted windows, making it incompatible with modern vehicles that often come factory-fitted with tinted glass.
He added that successive Inspectors General had at different times suspended or scrapped the permit regime, while senior police officers themselves drive SUVs with tinted windows without permits.
“The Nigeria Police Force is not a revenue-generating agency of the Federal Government,” the NBA stressed.
The controversy deepened on the first day of enforcement when officers in Asaba, Delta State, impounded the vehicle of a National Industrial Court judge, Justice O. A. Ogunbowale.
NBA-SPIDEL described the incident as “an embarrassing and avoidable situation” that vindicated its warnings about the dangers of the policy.
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The association disclosed it had sought a last-minute injunction to halt the enforcement, but the Federal High Court’s vacation judge declined to hear the matter, citing procedural limitations.
“A simple order to stay police action could have protected the public—and, as it turned out, one of his own colleagues,” NBA said.Urging the judiciary to rise to the occasion, the association concluded
“The judiciary’s authority and integrity are best protected when its members act to prevent chaos, even if it means bending a procedural rule on the last day on the bench.”
