The Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), under the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), will seek to escalate its case to the Supreme Court of Nigeria following a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja that dismissed the agency’s demand for enforcement powers on motorists.
On Thursday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously found the VIO’s appeal without merit — reaffirming a October 2024 judgment by the Federal High Court, Abuja, which held that no law empowers the VIO to stop, impound, confiscate or fine motorists. Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, who delivered the lead judgment, awarded ₦1 million in costs against the VIO in favour of the plaintiff, a rights-activist lawyer Abubakar Marshal.
The High Court had earlier declared in a suit filed by Marshal that the VIO lacked statutory authority to carry out impoundments or punitive fines, describing such actions as unlawful, oppressive and infringing on constitutional rights — including freedom of movement, property rights, presumption of innocence, and fair hearing. The court granted a perpetual injunction restraining the VIO, its agents or assigns, from seizing vehicles or imposing fines on motorists.
Following the appellate court’s decision, VIO publicly confirmed its intention to take the matter to the Supreme Court. The agency claimed the ruling would hamper effective traffic law enforcement in the Federal Capital Territory, citing alleged surges in traffic infractions and outstanding unpaid tickets said to amount to over ₦409 million.
Critics of VIO have hailed the court’s judgment as a watershed moment for motorists’ rights. Many Nigerians have long accused the agency of heavy-handed and arbitrary enforcement measures along Abuja’s roads. With this ruling, the courts reinforce that only bodies with explicit legal backing may sanction drivers — and even then, only after due process.
As the case heads to the Supreme Court, the outcome could redefine traffic enforcement in Abuja and beyond — potentially prompting legislative reviews to either formally grant agencies like the VIO statutory enforcement powers or formally restrict their mandate to vehicle inspection alone.
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