The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) challenging the enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy by the Nigeria Police Force.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Suleman Liman of Court 11, Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, dismissed in its entirety Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/182/2025 instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of the NBA on behalf of legal practitioners and the motoring public against the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force.
The court resolved all issues in favour of the defendants, holding that the NBA failed to establish the alleged illegality of the tinted glass permit policy.
Justice Liman ruled that the use of tinted glass on vehicles is not a constitutionally guaranteed right and that the police have the authority to regulate it in the interest of public safety.
According to the court, the association failed to discharge the burden of proof required to substantiate its claims and did not demonstrate that the policy violated the provisions of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution or the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.
The judge further held that the claims presented by the NBA did not disclose any reasonable cause of action recognisable in law.
Justice Liman observed that the concerns raised by the association appeared to be based largely on institutional convenience rather than any legally enforceable right.
“The claims of the plaintiff amount to mere assertions lacking sufficient legal foundation,” the court held, adding that the police cannot be restrained from implementing measures aimed at protecting citizens and maintaining public safety.
The suit arose following the reintroduction of the tinted glass permit policy by the Inspector-General of Police under the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, which requires vehicle owners to obtain permits before using tinted glass.
The NBA had argued that the policy was unconstitutional and susceptible to abuse, warning that it could encourage harassment and extortion by police officers.
Reacting to the judgment, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Edun, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the NBA, described the decision as unsurprising.
Edun said he would reserve comments on what he described as unpleasant developments that occurred in court during the proceedings.
He disclosed that Justice Liman had earlier declined to hear the NBA’s ex parte motion seeking an interim injunction when he presided as the vacation judge, citing limited time left in his tenure as vacation court judge.
Despite the setback, Edun said the legal battle against the tinted glass permit policy was far from over.
According to him, he and another lawyer, John Aikpokpo-Martins, are prosecuting similar suits in other courts and would continue to challenge the policy until it is halted.
“We will fight it till the end to stop the police that were already set to earn billions of naira every month from the tinted glass permit enforcement,” Edun said.
He alleged that the police resorted to enforcing the tinted glass permit policy as a major revenue source after President Bola Tinubu stopped the practice of hiring out police officers as escorts and guards for private individuals.
Edun clarified that the dismissal of the NBA’s suit was not responsible for the current suspension of the policy’s enforcement.
He explained that the suspension followed subsisting court orders issued by other courts.
According to him, the Federal High Court, Warri Division, in the case of John Aikpokpo-Martins v. IGP and another, directed parties to maintain the status quo pending determination of the matter.
Similarly, the High Court of Justice of Delta State sitting at the Orerokpe Judicial Division, in Suit No. HOR/FHR/M/31/2025 between Israel Joe and the Inspector-General of Police, granted an interim injunction restraining the police from implementing or enforcing the tinted glass permit policy pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The Delta State High Court, presided over by Justice Joe Egwu, also restrained the police from stopping, harassing, arresting, detaining or extorting citizens under the guise of enforcing the policy.
The court further barred the respondents from conducting government business through the Parkway Projects Account, described as a private contractor’s account, pending the determination of the suit.
Edun noted that pursuant to the orders of the Warri Federal High Court and the Delta State High Court, the Inspector-General of Police, through the then Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, issued press statements announcing the suspension of enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy.
He commended Aikpokpo-Martins for what he described as his commitment to pursuing cases aimed at promoting justice and a fair society.
Edun also acknowledged Olajide Abiodun, Vice Chairman of the NBA Ikorodu Branch, for instituting a similar action in Lagos State.
While the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the NBA’s challenge, the tinted glass permit policy remains suspended due to subsisting court orders from other jurisdictions, with several related suits still pending before the courts.







