By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the judgment barring the Directorate of Road Traffic Services and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from impounding vehicles or imposing fines on motorists.
The appellate court, while delivering judgment on Thursday, December 4, said it found no reason to set aside the October 16, 2024, verdict of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which prohibited the VIO from harassing motorists on the road.
The court consequently dismissed an appeal that was brought before it by the VIO for lacking in merit.
The lead judgment of the appellate court in the matter, which was unanimously decided by a three-member panel of justices, was read by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi.
The court awarded a cost of N1 million against the appellant and in favour of the respondent, a rights activist and public interest lawyer, Abubakar Marshal.
Recall that Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had declared that no law empowered the VIO to stop, impound, confiscate, seize, or impose a fine on motorists for any form of violation.
The judgment followed a fundamental right enforcement suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023, which was filed by Marshal, who called himself a public interest lawyer.
Marshal had told the court that he was forcefully stopped by VIO officials at Jabi District in Abuja on December 12, 2023, and his vehicle was impounded without any lawful justification.
The applicant, among other things, prayed the court to determine if the action of the VIO officials was not wrongful, oppressive, unlawful, and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights.
While granting the reliefs that were sought by the Applicant, Justice Maha specifically restrained the respondents, either through their agents, servants, and or assigns, from impounding and confiscating vehicles or imposing a fine on any motorists, as doing so would be wrongful, oppressive, and unlawful.
The court also issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, whether by themselves, agents, privies, allies, or anybody acting on behalf of the first respondent (Directorate of Road Traffic Services), from further violating the rights of Nigerians to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and right to own property, without lawful justification.
Justice Maha held that only a court of competent jurisdiction could impose a fine or sanction any motorist found to have acted in breach of any extant law.
