Tinted Permit: Respect Nigeria’s Court- NBA Charges Police
Statement By The NBA
I have noted the press statement issued by the Nigeria Police Force through its Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin. The NBA is the conscience of the legal profession and a critical stakeholder in Nigeria’s justice system. It is therefore important that I restate the NBA position clearly and unequivocally.
The position of the NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has been consistent, principled, and firmly rooted in constitutionalism: the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, PhD, NPM, must respect the rule of law and refrain from any action or directive that desecrates, diminishes, or undermines the authority of the courts and Nigeria’s judicial system. The Police Force is not, and must never be perceived as, a law unto itself.
The issue of the Motor Vehicle Tinted Glass Permit Policy is already before courts of competent jurisdiction for adjudication. In such circumstances, constitutional propriety demands restraint, deference to judicial processes, and strict obedience to court orders. Any step, direct or indirect, that pre-empts judicial determination or renders court proceedings nugatory strikes at the very heart of the rule of law.
I have also noted with deep concern and disappointment the unfortunate insinuation in the police statement suggesting that individuals are using the NBA to pursue personal agendas. This comment is unworthy of a national institution that ought to know better. The NBA’s intervention is not, and has never been, about personal ambition or self-promotion. It is about protecting Nigerians from abuse, extortion, intimidation, and harassment, which this Police tinted glass permit policy seeks to unleash on innocent and law abiding citizens.
Contrary to the narrative advanced by the Police, it is the NBA that is standing against the misuse of the Nigeria Police Force as a tool for personal agenda and aggrandisement, including the extortion of Nigerians through an arbitrary and opaque Tinted Glass Permit scheme, structured to benefit individuals and proxy private companies. The NBA will not be silent, while innocent Nigerians are subjected to policies that raise grave questions of legality, transparency, and accountability.
While the Police Force persists in public denial, the courts have spoken. On 17 December 2025, the High Court of Justice of Delta State, in MR. ISRAEL JOE v. THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE & 2 ORS., SUIT NO: HOR/FHR/M/31/2025, issued clear and binding orders, including:
1. An Order of Interim Injunction restraining the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force, their officers, agents, privies and/or contractors from implementing or further enforcing the Tinted Glass Permit Policy scheduled to commence on 2 January 2026, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive application.
2. An Order of Interim Injunction restraining the Police from stopping, harassing, arresting, detaining, extorting, or otherwise interfering with the constitutional rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of movement, and property of the applicant and Nigerian motorists under the guise of enforcing the Tinted Glass Permit Policy, pending the determination of the substantive application.
3. An Order of Interim Injunction restraining the Police from continuing to use the Parkway Projects Limited account, described as a private contractor’s account, to conduct any government business, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive application.
These orders are subsisting, binding, and enforceable. They must be obeyed. In a constitutional democracy, obedience to court orders is not optional, cosmetic, or subject to administrative convenience.
The demands NBA is making of the Nigeria Police Force are simple: Suspend the Tinted Glass Permit Scheme, respect the courts and respect Nigeria’s judicial processes. Anything short of this invites anarchy and erodes public confidence in lawful authority.
