Trending 
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the Nigeria Police Force over its decision to resume enforcement of the suspended tinted glass permit policy, describing the move as a grave affront to the authority of the courts and a subversion of the rule of law.
The reaction followed a press statement by police spokesperson CSP Benjamin Hundeyin on Monday announcing that enforcement of the policy would resume on January 2, 2026, despite pending court cases and a subsisting agreement to suspend action.
The NBA said the policy, introduced earlier in 2025 by the Inspector General of Police, had sparked widespread complaints of harassment, extortion and rights abuses, particularly against young Nigerians. In September, the association approached the High Court in Abuja to challenge the policy’s legality, arguing that the police lack constitutional or statutory authority to impose permit fees on citizens.
According to the NBA, the policy is rooted in a military-era law that no longer meets constitutional standards, amounts to an unlawful revenue drive by an agency not empowered to generate revenue, and imposes additional financial burdens on Nigerians amid economic hardship. The association also raised concerns that proceeds from the permit payments are allegedly paid into a private bank account rather than the Treasury Single Account.
The association recalled that following court orders directing the police to maintain the status quo, and after high-level engagement involving the Inspector General of Police, senior police officers and senior advocates, enforcement of the policy was formally suspended pending the outcome of the cases in court. This suspension was communicated to the High Court in Abuja and relied upon by the court when it struck out a motion for interlocutory injunction on December 12, 2025.
The NBA said it was therefore alarmed that the police announced the reactivation of enforcement barely a day after the court accepted assurances that the policy had been suspended. It described the move as a reckless reversal that undermines judicial authority and institutional integrity.
“This volte-face represents a reckless overreach, a contemptuous disregard for the authority of the Court, and a serious assault on institutional integrity. It portrays the Nigerian Police Force as having scant regard for the rule of law and as a body insistent on imposing financial hardship on Nigerians for the financial gains of private business owners/interests.” It said.
With judgment now reserved in the substantive suit, the NBA called on the Inspector General of Police to immediately withdraw the enforcement notice and halt all actions relating to the policy until the courts have finally determined the matter.
The association also directed its branches and human rights committees nationwide to provide legal support to any citizen who is harassed, arrested, detained, or prosecuted under the tinted glass permit policy, insisting that Nigerians must not be subjected to intimidation under a policy still before the courts.
