Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has instituted a suit against the inspector-general of police (IGP) over the tinted glass permit policy, describing it as unlawful and a violation of fundamental rights.
The association, at its pre-conference National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Enugu on August 23, resolved to challenge the policy introduced in April 2025 by Kayode Egbetokun, the IGP.
The policy, which was initially billed to take off on June 1 before being shifted to October 2, requires motorists to obtain annual permits for tinted glasses through a digital portal (possap.gov.ng).
In a statement issued on Thursday, Paul Ananaba, chairman of the NBA section on public interest and development law (SPIDEL), said the directive is fraught with transparency concerns.
“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 alleged that even before enforcement begins, “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”.
It also claimed that payments for permits are being routed to a private account belonging to Parkway Projects rather than into the federation account or Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The body argued that the directive violates rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of movement, and property.
The NBA further questioned the legal foundation of the initiative, noting that it appears to rely on the Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act, a 1991 military decree, which it said may not satisfy the constitutional test 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 suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/182/2025, is yet to be assigned to a judge.
Ananaba said the association will pursue the case to a conclusion and urged the police to suspend enforcement until the court has made a decision.
