The midday sun scorched the asphaltic roads in Rivers State as the fat and “potbelly” state police commissioner, Olugbenga Adepoju Adewole, and his men stormed the streets to enforce the recently resuscitated, but outdated tinted glass permit, which is expected to generate several billions of naira to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). This official permit fee is N14,200. However, each motorist will officially spend about N18,000 on this permit due to the other mandatory charges associated with the scheme, including N2,000 for capturing. An investigation revealed that some motorists spent approximately N40,000 due to unauthorized fees charged by unscrupulous police officers. Before the introduction of this anti-people scheme, the Police Force introduced a compulsory Central Motor Registry (CMR), at a cost of N5,375 for all motorists. Through this alone, NPF will generate 59 billion naira annually from the 11.8 million motorists in Nigeria. “Share the men to both sides of the road fast so that we can start the enforcement”, the CP ordered. The order was immediately carried out, and the enforcement began. The first casualty was an exotic black jeep that the policemen stopped. “Where is your police tinted glass permit?” the police boss asked the driver, who waited for the owner to come down to respond to the question. “Madam, you are the owner of this car. Where is the tinted glass permit for your car?” he asked. For a short period, the woman looked psychologically imbalanced, but later muttered some words with a shaking voice. “I have met with Okoro (a policeman at the state command), who told me that I don’t need the permit since my car glasses are factory fitted”, she responded. “You”, the CP pointed to a policeman, “enter this car and take her to the office. Let Okoro advise her that she has to get a tinted permit”, was the order of the unhostile but frankly firm police boss. The woman was immediately arrested and her car impounded.
The same story with another motorist, a man this time around, whose car was impounded too. Explaining to the newsmen monitoring the exercise, the CP said, “The vehicle has its paper intact, but it doesn’t have a permit to use a tinted vehicle. He complained that he was told that his car has factory-fitted tinted glass and he doesn’t need to get a permit. This is wrong information. I think he also needs to be sensitised to know his vehicle is tinted. It is something you can see for yourself. And for him to be riding such a vehicle in the town, he is supposed to have a permit where all necessary information about him will be known, so that if he uses it to commit a crime, we will easily get him to answer for the crime. His vehicle is going to be impounded so that he can do the necessary thing.”
However, he pointed out that the police will have compassion for motorists who have started the process of getting the permit. He explained, “If a person has started the process, a number will be given to him to take to the headquarters for capturing. If we know that he has started the process, we’ll allow the person to go. At least some information has been received concerning him. It is very important and helps police in data capturing, and makes it easy for us to detect and arrest people who are using such vehicles for criminal activities. I think it is a good way to go. It is a continuous process.” He concluded that miscreants and criminals use tinted vehicles to convey arms and ammunition and other dangerous equipment that they could use to attack good citizens of Nigeria.” According to him, the permit will help the police to have a statistic of those using tinted glass vehicles.
Likewise, in Lagos State, CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, who went round to confirm the level of compliance, noted that the essence of the permit is not to inconvenience Nigerians but to enhance public safety, curb criminality, and ensure compliance with road safety regulations.
His words, “We have started the enforcement of tinted glass across Lagos State. The level of compliance in Lagos State is high compared to what it is in other states. Only a few Lagosians have not complied. We want members of the public not to entertain any fear; rather, they should comply with the police order. The process is ongoing. Those who have not done it should go online to do it. The enforcement is total. For those who have not registered online, we encourage them to do so. There is still time for them to register, but if they refuse, then they will not be able to drive the cars on the roads. Once you are on the road, you must comply with the registration process. If we impound your vehicle and you comply within a reasonable time, your vehicle will be released to you. Once the police flag you down, bring out your permit and show it to them.”
The Commissioner of Police in Niger State, Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, also led the team that is forcing residents to obtain the permit. Sighted on the road, he told the newsmen, “You know we have made it public that enforcement of the tinted glass permit will commence from October 2. That is why I decided to come out with my men to supervise all my DPOs and Area Commanders to ensure that the order is being enforced today as directed by my IGP.”
Scenes like this, imbued in harassment and intimidation, unfold daily, beginning from October 2, 2025, on Nigerian roads across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where a law originally intended to protect public safety has mutated into one of the most widespread, informal revenue streams for the police.
The police authority has defended the reintroduction of tinted glass permits, saying that nothing could stop its implementation. Speaking, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, stressed that the Nigerian constitution has empowered the police to issue tinted glass permits to motorists. He stated, “There is a law in place for that. If you must tint your glass, if you must be inconspicuous, if you must be very covert, then we need to have your details so that if things happen, it is easier to trace the criminal.” He denied knowledge of the court judgment restraining the police from enforcing the tinted glass permits for the motorists. His words, “There has been no hearing, there has been no court order, there has been no injunction regarding the tinted glass permit. For now, we maintain the status quo. The status quo in this sense is to continue with our enforcement of the existing law for the tinted glass permit.”
It would be recalled that the Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, recently issued an interim injunction stopping the IGP and the NPF from enforcing the Tinted Glass Permit Policy, which was scheduled to begin on October 2, 2025. The order followed a motion by John Aikpokpo-Martins, who argued that the policy was unlawful and imposed undue hardship on citizens. In his ruling, Justice H.A. Nganjiwa restrained the police, their officers, agents, and contractors from implementing the policy or harassing, arresting, detaining, or impounding vehicles under its guise, pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
The court also granted permission for the plaintiff to serve the originating summons and other legal documents on the defendants through substituted means, specifically by FedEx courier. Justice Nganjiwa commended the applicant for seeking judicial intervention, describing the move as both timely and proper after hearing submissions from a legal team led by Kunle Edun, SAN. The case, John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Inspector General of Police & Anor (FHC/WR/CS/103/2025), was adjourned for further hearing. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Force stated on Saturday that it had yet to be officially served with the court order halting the enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy.
Members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) vehemently condemned the reintroduction of the tinted glass permit, noting that the intention is not patriotic but evil and a means of police forcefully extorting Nigerians to make humongous money for themselves. Making this condemnation at media chats are Tunji Abdullahameed, Olayinka Ola-Daniel, Fred Nzeako, and Malachy Ugummadu, all lawyers, public commentators, and analysts.
They all argued that the law the police rely on, which is rooted in the military decree of 1991, under General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, is outdated and unfashionable, pointing out that it is not relevant to the Nigeria of the 21st century. They further stated that the enforcement of the tinted glass permit violated sections 37, 47, 44, and Chapter 4 of the nation’s constitution.
Abdullahameed explained that the police authority under IGP Kayode Egbetokun acted outside the Police Act, which has never criminalized a car’s tinted glass, citing relevant aspects of the nation’s constitution to argue that “No movable property or assets should be forcefully obtained except with the procedure prescribed by law.” He said, “If I have a car and you want to take it away from me because I don’t have a tinted permit and there is no law that criminalizes not having a tinted permit, on what basis will you be confiscating my car? If I don’t have it, you must have gotten an order against me for you to be able to take my car.”
He explained that police posture on tinted glass permits was an infringement on the citizens’ rights, stressing that citing security reasons as the main reason for tinted glass was a mere veil to perpetuate financial crime and subject Nigerians to more hardship, which has been the pillar of President Tinubu’s administration. “Police should just tell us they want to make money. To make matters worse, the money for the tinted glass permit is being paid into a private account, not a government account. Unfortunately, we are in a country where the rule of law is not respected”, he stated.
He said the police have erred in law for their refusal to obey the court order restraining the institution from enforcing the permit, saying, “A letter was written to you to inform you there is a case in court. As a responsible enforcement agent, once a case is before the court, you need to stay action.”
“We must give kudos to the NBA and human rights lawyers who are saying police have no business generating revenue for the state; it doesn’t have a business in enforcing tinted glass permits in the way and manner they want to go about it. Police should be about security, not generating revenue. What the police, as a security institution, is doing is not part of the statutory responsibility of the police to generate revenue for the state. For them to bend on enforcing it shows there is something behind it that we don’t know. The responsibility of the police is to maintain peace and order. The police have neglected their primary responsibilities and delved into raising funds”, he added.
In the same direction, Ugummadu illustrated how the Nigerian police has demonstrated a bad example for its failure to adhere to the judgment of the court, saying that constructive knowledge alone is sufficient for a lawful individual or institution to obey the court order. He said, “If the Force PRO indicated or pointed out a portion of the order that said the court, in granting the injunction, refused certain important reliefs. That is knowledge. In law, there is constructive knowledge. It must not be actual knowledge. If you have constructive knowledge of a fact that a matter is pending in court, what you are required to do, no less, by the chief law enforcement agent in the country is to obey.”
He noted that it is to the knowledge of the NPF that the court has ordered status quo to be maintained on the tinted glass permit, and it must be adhered to. Explaining the status quo, he stated, “It means the situation that prevailed, that existed before the controversy ensued, leading up to litigation, disputation, and whatever. What was the status quo before this moment? It is that time when we were not harassed and troubled, that is the status quo. The court ruled that the status quo should remain on the side of the plaintiff, respondent, and the general public. The respondent in this matter is the police, the IGP, and the NPF. They should maintain the status quo pending the determination of the matter. Until the matter is determined by this same court, no person should take any action.”
Against the court ruling, the police going ahead to enforce the policy was disgusting to him. “Imagine such conditions in a country where you have fundamental rights? We need to convince ourselves that we are not from Cameroon; we are Nigerians sufficiently imbued with those rights. The police came out with a blanket ban on tinted glass and issued a public advertorial. It was on the 14th of May, 2011. The advertorial was taken out by the Minister of police affairs, Humphrey Abba. Based on that advertorial, the then IGP gave a deadline that on a particular day, no person would be allowed to use tinted glass vehicles. We can’t legitimately challenge the modality adopted by the Nigerian police in policing Nigeria. But when they do that in violation of our rights, we will stand up. I have a fundamental right of movement as facilitated by my legs, as they are, by the vehicle I use”, he enlightened.
Affirming that the permit is mainly to generate revenue, Nzeako, who asserted that police responsibility is not to raise money for the government, urged the institution to spare Nigerians the hubris and the challenges needless permit, saying that if at all the police would reintroduce a tinted glass permit, the exercise should have been a one-off thing. “Why will the permit be subjected to annual renewal, which makes the idea of revenue generation, and not the issue of security. If for revenue, should police collect money on behalf of the FG? Let us ban the use of tinted glass so that no car will have tinted glass, including the government officials… Asking Nigerians to change their tinted glasses to plain glasses is a waste of personal revenue”, he added.
Ola—Daniel enjoined the police to maintain the status quo on the case and wait for the court ruling on the permit, saying, If police that are supposed to be enforcement agents are now the ones disobeying the law, then I have an issue with that.”
Like others, he argued that no court ruling is needed to maintain the status quo when a matter is pending in court. “What we have refused to take cognizance of law and time. In those days, the military government promulgated the decree; Nigeria was manufacturing vehicles, but today, we are not. The Police is just acting as a revenue-generating agency. If it is not a revenue-generating agency, why subjecting Nigerians to yearly renewal at the same cost? To what end? We renew vehicle licenses in this country, and we don’t pay to the police. If the law is inconsistent with the provision of Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it is void ab initio. We must follow the rule of law. I have an issue with the National Assembly – the legislators. They are there. I don’t know what they are doing about this matter”, angrily, he angrily stated.
He justified the ill motive of the police about the permit, stating, “The criminals you want to arrest are using policemen as escorts to cover up, and you can’t stop them because you are not sure who they are. If it is to curb criminality, when motorists get to check checkpoint, ask them to wind their glasses down for you to see what is in the vehicles.”
Amidst this controversy, IGP Egbetokun, on Thursday, October 9, 2025, suspended the enforcement of the Tinted Glass policy after a closed-door meeting with a delegate of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by its President, Afam Josiah Osigwe (SAN).
Citing respect for the NBA and consideration for public interest, the IGP stated that the suspension subsists pending the outcome of a court hearing on October 16, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State. Sending a signal that there is no going back on the policy, the policy chief in a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin said, “All vehicle owners and motorists are urged to take advantage of this window to regularise their documentation and ensure full compliance with all relevant laws regulating the use of motor vehicles with shaded or tinted glasses in Nigeria.” The statement further added that the IGP would enforce all extant laws with fairness, transparency, and respect for the rights of all citizens while maintaining effective collaboration with critical stakeholders in the administration of justice.
Among other numerous Nigerians kicking against the exploitative policies is Agho Omobude, an Edo-based activist, who faulted the NPF over the permit, describing the move as a ploy to generate revenue rather than enhance national security. Omobude commended the NBA and human rights lawyers for opposing what he termed the “illegal revenue drive,” arguing that the police have abandoned their constitutional duty of maintaining peace and order. He accused the IGP Egbetokun of losing focus, alleging that the enforcement scheme was designed to enrich the force and the government at the expense of suffering Nigerians. Omobude questioned the link between tinted glass and insecurity, noting that the real causes of insecurity include corruption, poor recruitment processes, and underfunding of the force. He warned that the IGP’s insistence on enforcing the policy could provoke public resistance and lead to chaos, lamenting that the current administration continues to overtax citizens without providing commensurate benefits
In the interest of Nigerians whose government policies are snuffing life out of them through various financial burdens put on them, IGP Egbetokun should cancel both CMR and tinted glass permit policies.
