The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has filed a lawsuit against the inspector-general of police (IGP) over the tinted glass permit policy, describing it as unlawful and an infringement on fundamental rights.
At its pre-conference National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Enugu on August 23, the association resolved to contest the policy introduced in April 2025 by IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
The policy, initially slated to begin on June 1 but later postponed to October 2, mandates motorists to obtain annual permits for tinted glasses through a digital portal (possap.gov.ng).
In a statement released on Thursday, Paul Ananaba, chairman of the NBA section on public interest and development law (SPIDEL), raised concerns about the transparency of the directive.
“In April 2025, the inspector-general of police purportedly introduced a policy which mandated members of the Nigerian motoring public to apply for and obtain annual motor tinted glass permits from the Nigeria Police Force for a fee,” the statement reads.
“The inspector-general of police in the same month purportedly launched a digital portal (possap.gov.ng) through which the application for tinted glass permits was to be processed.
“We are being informed that the portal and the policy are to be managed by a private vendor, and there is no indication that the funds generated from the enforcement of the purported policy will go into the Federation Account.”
The NBA also alleged that even before enforcement commences, “there have been several reported cases of harassment and extortion of citizens by the policemen in checkpoint duty on the basis of this same policy”.
According to the body, payments for permits are being directed to a private account belonging to Parkway Projects rather than into the federation account or the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The association argued that the directive infringes on citizens’ rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of movement, and property.
It further challenged the legal foundation of the initiative, noting that it appears to be based on the Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act — a 1991 military decree — which it argued may not meet the constitutional standard of being “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society”.
Acting through SPIDEL, the NBA filed a public interest suit on September 2 at the federal high court in Abuja. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/182/2025, has not yet been assigned to a judge.
Ananaba emphasized that the association intends to pursue the case to its conclusion and urged the police to halt enforcement until the court delivers its judgment.