Prohibition Of Tinted Glasses On Motor Vehicles In Nigeria; Matters Arising

INTRODUCTION

The use of tinted glasses by motor vehicles in Nigeria has recently sparked public debate and legal battles. At the forefront of the subject matter is the Nigerian Police Force and the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, 1991, which is the principal statute governing the use of tinted glass on vehicles in Nigeria. This legislation whose major aim is to prohibit the use of tinted glasses except a special permit is issued and is enforced by the Nigeria Police Force has generated controversy particularly in light of modern vehicles, evolving public security realities and judicial interventions.

This article provides a comprehensive perspective on the history, statutory framework, enforcement by the Nigerian Police Force, and recent court orders surrounding the tinted glass prohibition and permit in Nigeria.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON TINTED GLASSES

The flagship legislation guiding the usage of tinted glass on vehicles in Nigeria is the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, 1991.

The Act provides that to use tinted glass, certain conditions must be met. One of such is that a permit is to be obtained from the Inspector General of Police or any other person authorised by him to give such permission.¹ According to the Act, except with the permission of the appropriate authority designated and for good cause, such as health or security reasons or as may be determined from time to time by the appropriate authority, no person shall cause any glass fitted on a motor vehicle to be tinted; or shaded; or coloured lightly or thickly; or darkened; or treated in any other way, so that the persons or objects in the motor vehicle are rendered obscure or invisible.²

Some exceptions to the general prohibition of tinted glasses are if it is done for good cause on grounds of health or security subject to the approval by the appropriate authority.

On the prohibition of the use of tinted glasses, the Act made it a punishable offence to use tinted glasses without the permission of the appropriate authority and provided for the different means through which a person can commit an offence under the Act. They include the following:

1. A person who causes any glass fitted on a motor vehicle to be tinted, shaded or coloured lightly or thickly, darkened or treated in any other way to ensure that persons or objects in the motor vehicle are rendered obscure or invisible.
2. A person who does or omits to do any act for the purpose of enabling or aiding another person to tint, shade, colour, darken or treat in any other way any glass fitted on a motor vehicle.
3. A person who aids another person in tinting, shading, colouring, darkening or treating in any other way any glass fitted on a motor vehicle.
4. A person who counsels or procures any other person to tint, shade, colour, darken or treat in any other way, any glass fitted on a motor vehicle.³

For imported cars, the Act provided that anyone who buys, donates or imports a vehicle with tinted, shaded, coloured, darkened or treated glass is obligated to change all the glass within a period of 14 days from the date of arrival in Nigeria or date of purchase.⁴

The penalty for any infraction under this Act is a fine of N2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both such fine and imprisonment.⁵

TINTED GLASS PERMIT BY THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE

In April 2025, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) reintroduced a policy to regulate the use of tinted glasses in Nigeria, which required vehicle owners to obtain a permit for the use of tinted glasses through an online portal, https://possap.gov.ng.⁶ The Inspector-General of Police had initially set an 12^th August 2025 deadline for motorists to obtain the permits, but later extended it to 2^nd October 2025.⁷

This policy which had been suspended since 2022 was marked by significant public backlash. Enforcement by the Nigeria Police Force began with checkpoints and vehicle inspections, and in most states, police seized vehicles and impounded them for non-compliance with the tinted glass permit policy. Critics allege that the tinted-glass permit requirement was a pretext for harassment and extortion. However, the Police defended the policy, saying it was lawful and aimed at curbing national security concerns and reducing crimes committed using heavily tinted vehicles such as kidnappings and armed robberies in accordance with the (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act of 1991.⁸

COURT INTERVENTION ON TINTED GLASS PERMIT

As a result of the enforcement of the tinted glass permit law by the Nigeria Police Force and the reaction by citizens, there was a need for judicial intervention.

On the 3^rd day of October 2025, the Federal High Court sitting in Warri issued an order of interim injunction restraining the Nigeria Police Force from enforcing the Tinted Glass Permit Policy pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice filed before the Court. The suit was between John Aikpokpo-Martins v Inspector General of Police & ors.⁹ The case was filed by Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins for himself and in a representative capacity on behalf of tinted car owners against the Inspector General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force. After the submissions of counsel, Hon. Justice H.A Ngajiwa of the Federal High Court Warri amongst others ordered that the parties are to maintain status quo pending the determination and hearing of the motion on notice.¹⁰

Furthermore, on the 2^nd day of September 2025, the Nigerian Bar Association, filed an action before the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association v. Inspector General of Police & Anor¹¹ questioning the legality of the Tinted Glass Permit Policy.

The suit challenged, inter alia, the absence of any constitutional or statutory authority vested in the Nigeria Police Force to levy fees or impose financial obligations on citizens under the pretext of enforcing the policy. In contesting the legality and constitutionality of the policy, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) contended that the policy is unconstitutional, obnoxious, illegal, extortionate, and inimical to the rights and economic well-being of citizens. Accordingly, the NBA, acting through its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), maintained in the suit that:

1. The Motor Tinted Glass (Prohibition) Act of 1991, under which the policy is premised, is a military-era decree that no longer meets the democratic thresholds of justification under Section 45 and other relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution;
2. The National Assembly does not have the legislative competence to enact the law; therefore, the same cannot rightly be deemed a law properly made by the National Assembly.
3. The enforcement of the unlawful policy will initiate disorder and extortion, given the Nigeria Police's long and sordid history of extortion, bribery, harassment, intimidation, and extra-judicial killings.
4. The policy is a brazen revenue-generating drive by the Nigeria Police Force, which by law is not a revenue-generating organisation. This is particularly worrisome as the fees are paid into the account of a private company.
5. The imposed levy for obtaining and renewal of the permit adds to Nigeria's ever-increasing layers of taxation, thereby portraying Nigeria as a difficult place to do business. The levy imposed financial burden and hardship on Nigerians struggling with economic hardship.
6. The permit policy undermines Nigeria's tax reforms, which came into effect in January 2026, in that it has added to the multiplicity of taxes and taxing agencies in Nigeria, as well as the high corporate tax burden on businesses.
7. Nigerians import cars from abroad, and modern vehicles come with factory-fitted tinted glasses, yet the Police discountenance this in the drive to generate revenue for themselves and a few individuals.
8. The payment proceeds made into a private bank account instead of the Treasury Single Account raises serious concerns of transparency and corruption.
9. The policy brazenly nullifies already issued permits, and the purported requirement for renewal of the permits has no legal basis.¹²

As a result of the pending issues, the former Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun while he was in office, convened a meeting between major stakeholders of the Police Management Team and representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association. At the meeting, it was resolved that enforcement of the policy would be immediately suspended pending the outcome of the proceedings before the court, and that the Police is to issue directives to its officers to cease and desist from any further enforcement of the policy. Subsequently, when the matter came up for hearing on the 12^th of December 2025, the court was informed of the agreement reached between the NBA and the IGP suspending enforcement of the policy. Therefore, the Motion for Interlocutory Injunction was struck out.¹³

On the 2^nd day of December 2025, the Nigerian Police Force through its outgoing Force Public Relations Officer, CSP. Benjamin Hundeyin announced the intention of the Nigerian Police Force to resume its nationwide enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy on the 2^nd day of January 2026 citing that the decision stems from a review of emerging security threats and the need to enhance public safety. He further reiterated that the Courts have not restrained the Nigeria Police Force from enforcing the provisions of the law regarding the use of tinted glass on vehicles.¹⁴ This statement was highly criticised by both citizens and the Nigerian Bar Association which stated the announcement was made in contradiction to the earlier agreement reached and against the Rule of Law.

Following the announcement of the resumed enforcement by the Police, the High Court of Delta State sitting at Orerokpe in MR. ISRAEL JOE V INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE AND ORS,¹⁵ issued an interim Injunction on the enforcement of the tinted glasses permit. The relief sought by the applicant includes an Order barring the police from implementing, enforcing, or taking any further steps to enforce the tinted glass permit policy pending the hearing and determination of the substantive application before the Court and an order restraining the respondents from stopping, harassing, arresting, detaining, extorting, or otherwise interfering with the constitutional rights of the applicant and other citizens or motorists under the guise of enforcing the policy amongst others. Hon Justice Egwu Joe granted the reliefs as prayed.¹⁶ This court order has stalled the implementation of the policy pending the conclusion of the matter in court.

To answer the question on whether the implementation of the tinted glasses permit is an infringement of the constitutional rights of citizens, there is a need to delve into the exceptions to the fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution.

Section 45 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) provided for two major exceptions to the fundamental rights. The section clearly states that the Fundamental rights provided for in sections 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution shall invalidate any law that is in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health or for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons. These grounds could be part of the justification of the Nigerian Police Force in their implementation of the Tinted Glass Permit.

In Federal Republic of Nigeria v. KANU, ¹⁷ the Court in its Judgement on whether fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution are absolute rights held as follows:

It is trite that under the Nigerian adversarial criminal justice system, the fundamental rights cherishingly entrenched in Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, are not absolute. See Sections 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 44 and 45 of the 1999 Constitution (supra). Indeed, it is trite that where National Security is threatened, or there's the likelihood of it being threatened, human rights and individual rights of those responsible ought to take second place. That's to say, human rights or individual rights ought to be suspended until national security could be guaranteed and well taken care of Per IBRAHIM MOHAMMED MUSA SAULAWA, JSC

CONCLUSION

The tinted glass permit policy in Nigeria raises legal and constitutional concerns that go beyond safety concerns. Although public safety and security is of utmost importance, the process for achieving that objective must comply strictly with the Constitution and existing statutory frameworks. From a constitutional perspective, the manner of enforcement of the tinted glass policy directly implicates several fundamental rights like the right to freedom of movement and right to privacy enshrined under the Constitution. Although the policy is backed up by the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, 1991, it has become so controversial.

Until the courts give a final decision, the tinted glass permit regime remains under legal scrutiny, and court orders must be respected.

Footnotes

1. Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.

2. Section 1 of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.

3. Section 2(1) a-d of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.

4. Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.

5. Section 4(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.

6. National Security: NPF Reactivates Digital Tinted Glass Permit system. Available at https://npf.gov.ng/news/details/Nigeria-Police-Force-under-digital-platform-available-atpossap.gov.ng. Accessed 20^th January 2026.

7.B. Enome: IGP Extends Tinted Glass Permit Enforcement Deadline to October 2. Available at https://www.arise.tv/igp-extends-tinted-glass-permit-enforcement-deadline-to-october-2/ .

8. D. Ogunyemi, "Court Suspends Police Tinted Glass Permit Enforcement" Available at https://punchng.com/court-suspends-police-tinted-glass-permit-enforcement. Accessed 20th January 2026.

9. Suit No: FHC/WR/CS/103/2025

10. Available at https://blog.nigerianbar.org.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/enrollment-order-on-tinted-permit-enforcement.pdf. Accessed 10^th January 2026.

11. Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1821/2025

12. Available at https://blog.nigerianbar.org.ng/2025/12/16/the-resumption-of-enforcement-of-the-police-unlawful-tinted-glass-permit-policy-is-a-grave-affront-to-the-majesty-of-the-court-and-a-subversion-of-the-rule-of-law-nba/. Accessed 20^th January 2026

13. Ibid.

14. Ignatius Igwe, "Police to Resume Tinted Glass Permit Enforcement in January" available at https://www.channelstv.com/2025/12/15/police-to-resume-tinted-glass-permit-enforcement-in-january/. Accessed 21st January 2026.

15. Suit no: HOR/FHR/M/31/2025

16. C. Igwo, "Court Bars Police From Jan 2nd Tinted Glass Policy Enforcement" Available at https://thewhistler.ng/court-bars-police-from-jan-2nd-tinted-glass-policy-enforcement/. Accessed 26^th January 2026.

17. (2023) LPELR 79929(SC)