A Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to maintain the status quo in a suit filed by lawyer John Aikpokpo-Martins, who is contesting the legality of the newly introduced tinted permit enforcement.
The court’s order comes a day after the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) vowed to provide free legal services to Nigerians harassed by the police over the controversial tinted glass permit, which it described as “illegal.”
The NBA, through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law, said the police had no constitutional basis to impose fees or annual renewals on motorists, warning that enforcement of the policy was both unlawful and a revenue-driven scheme.
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In a statement on Thursday, the Chairman of the NBA’s Public Interest Litigation Committee, Olukunle Edun (SAN), said: “We shall invoke the powers of the court to ensure that the Nigeria Police Force does not trample on the rights of Nigerians. Any citizen who is harassed by the police in the purported enforcement of the illegal tinted glass permit should feel free to contact any of the NBA branches.
“The Human Rights Committees of the 130 branches of the NBA in Nigeria are ready to offer pro bono services to anyone who is harassed. It has been estimated that the police may generate at least N3bn within a month from monies that will be collected, thus turning the police into a revenue-generating agency of the Federal Government instead of focusing on the more serious issue of crime.”
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