The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has rebutted the Nigeria Bar Association’s threat to drag the Inspector-General of Police and the police institution to court over the tinted-glass permit policy, saying that it has not acted outside its constitutional jurisdiction.
According to a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, the fees the institution is charging for the acquisition of the tinted-glass permit are purely a processing fee and for the maintenance of the digital infrastructure deployed for this service.
In an effort to generate revenue from Nigerians, the Nigeria Police Force introduced an annually charged tinted-glass permit, costing over N20,000, and an Electronic Central Motor Registry (e-CMR) permit, priced at N5,000.
These two revenue generation techniques have been described as insensitive to the Nigerians’ plight, and another way of making life more difficult during the regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Among the groups that frowned against these revenue-generating methods of the police is the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which has threatened to approach the court to restrain the police from using these means to generate revenue.
The Police stated, “Section 2(3a) of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, 2004 empowers the Inspector-General of Police or any person duly authorised by him to grant or approve the permit. Furthermore, Section 1(2) of the same Act provides that an applicant must show good cause either on health grounds or for security reasons before the use of tinted glass can be approved. The essence of this regulation is consistent with the core mandate of the Police to prevent crimes, as the permit is a critical tool for curbing violent crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, and one-chance operations.”
“In the same vein, it is important to clarify that the charges attached to the acquisition of the permit are purely processing fees and for the maintenance of the digital infrastructure deployed 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”, the police added.
The Force further stated, “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.”
