The Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police to suspend the enforcement of tinted glass permit regulations nationwide.
The interim order, delivered on Friday in Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025 filed by legal practitioner John Aikpokpo-Martins, directed the police to maintain the status quo and “respect judicial processes pending further proceedings in the matter.”
Kunle Edun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who led the petitioner’s legal team, described the ruling as “a major step in ensuring that the rule of law is upheld while the substantive issues in the case are being determined.”
The ruling comes just as the Delta State Police Command announced the impoundment of 25 vehicles in Asaba for violating the tinted glass permit regulation. In a statement posted Friday on its verified X handle, @DeltaPoliceNG, the command said: “Enforcement of tint permits. Twenty-five vehicles were impounded for driving a tinted vehicle without a tinted permit in Asaba.”
The enforcement move follows the April 2025 announcement by the Nigeria Police Force that it had resumed issuing tinted glass permits through the Police Specialised Services Automation Project (POSSAP). The policy, first suspended in 2022, was revived under Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, who initially set August 12 as the compliance deadline before extending it to October 2.
Police authorities have defended the policy as lawful, citing the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act of 1991 and national security concerns. However, motorists and civil rights groups have criticized it as prone to abuse, harassment at checkpoints, and extortion, especially since many vehicles come with factory-fitted tinted windows.
The Delta State Command had also announced plans to begin full enforcement of the regulation on October 2, alongside a clampdown on unauthorized sirens, strobe lights, and obscured license plates. But with the new court order, the nationwide enforcement campaign is expected to be suspended until the legal challenge is resolved.
