The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has filed a lawsuit against the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over the recently introduced tinted-glass permit policy, describing it as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The case, instituted at the Federal High Court in Abuja on September 2, 2025, is titled The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association v. The Inspector-General of Police & Anor (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/182/2025). The matter is yet to be assigned to a judge.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Paul Ananaba, Chairman of the NBA’s Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL), said the association was alerted to irregularities in the policy, including claims that permit fees were being paid into a private account rather than the Federation Account.
According to him, “In April 2025, the Inspector-General of Police purportedly introduced a policy mandating motorists to apply for and obtain annual tinted-glass permits from the Nigeria Police Force for a fee. The Inspector-General also launched a digital portal, possap.gov.ng, through which applications were to be processed. We are being informed that the portal and the policy are to be managed by a private vendor, with no evidence that the funds generated will be remitted to the Federation Account.”
The NBA alleged that the funds are being routed to a private account belonging to Parkway Projects Limited. It also raised concerns about reported cases of harassment and extortion of motorists at police checkpoints, even though official enforcement of the policy has not commenced.
Beyond the financial irregularities, the association argued that the policy violates citizens’ fundamental rights, including the rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of movement, and property. It further questioned the legal foundation of the policy, noting that it appears to rely on the Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act—a 1991 military decree—which the NBA said does not meet the constitutional threshold of being “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.”
The association, acting through SPIDEL, urged the police to suspend the enforcement of the policy pending judicial determination of the suit. Ananaba affirmed that the NBA would pursue the case to its logical conclusion in the public interest.