The court orders police to maintain the status quo and halts the tinted glass policy.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) have been directed to maintain the status quo by the Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, which has stopped the implementation of the tinted glass permit policy. The ruling was made on Friday in Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025, which was brought against the IGP and the NPF by attorney John Aikpokpo-Martins.

A report cited Bridget Edokwe, the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), as saying that the court explicitly ordered the police to adhere to court procedures while the case was pending. Due to the tinted-glass permit regulation, the NBA sued the Inspector-General of Police in September 2025.

According to the association, the policy is unlawful and infringes upon fundamental rights, particularly the legitimacy of the 1991 decree upon which it is based. Citing issues with the policy’s implementation and transparency, the lawsuit was filed in the Federal High Court in Abuja and aims to contest the legitimacy of the permit system as well as the police’s jurisdiction.

The police force clarified that Section 2(3a) of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, 2004 gives the Inspector-General of Police or any person duly authorized by him the authority to grant or approve the permit in response to the lawsuit and the legality of the recent issuance of tinted permits.

Additionally, it said that before the use of tinted glass can be permitted, an applicant must present good cause, either for security or health reasons, as stipulated in Section 1(2) of the same Act. Since the permit is a vital instrument for preventing violent crimes including kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, and one-off operations, the force claims that the substance of this rule is consistent with the police’s primary mission to prevent crimes.

Similarly, it made clear that the fees associated with obtaining the permission are solely for processing and for the upkeep of the digital infrastructure set up for this service.

“This is well within the law as provided for under Section 26(e) and (f) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, which empowers the Police to render specialised services to the public at a fee,” it added.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, who made the clarification in a statement said “it is worthy to put on record that the Force has recorded commendable and significant successes with the Electronic Central Motor Registry (e-CMR), through which numerous stolen vehicles have been traced and recovered across the country, a feat made possible by the modernised police specialised services in line with global best practices.

“The Nigeria Police wishes to unequivocally assure the public that the alleged claims by individuals and groups that the tinted permit policy is not legal, transparent and constitutionally valid are not only untrue and misleading but also a calculated attempt to cast aspersions on the image, integrity, and lawful operations of the Force.”

Meanwhile, about twenty-five vehicles were impounded in Asaba, Delta State for driving without tinted permits.