A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from imposing fines or penalties on motorists who violate the Third-Party Motor Vehicle Insurance Act without recourse to the court.
Delivering judgement, Justice Hauwa Joseph Yilwa held that while both agencies are statutorily empowered to enforce compliance with the Act, they do not possess the legal authority to penalise defaulting motorists without a valid court order.
The ruling followed a public interest lawsuit instituted by human rights lawyer, Barrister Deji Adeyanju. Before proceeding with the final judgement, the court dismissed a Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by the police, which sought to halt the proceedings.
At the hearing, counsel to the police, Mr Andrew Victor, challenged the court’s jurisdiction. He argued that the police were not served with the originating processes and maintained that jurisdictional issues could be raised at any stage before a judgement is delivered.
However, in a bench ruling, Justice Yilwa disagreed with the submission, stating that proof of service was clearly reflected in the court’s records.
“Having listened to the submissions of all counsel, this court notes that the originating summons was served on all respondents,” Justice Yilwa stated. To reinforce her position, the judge listed multiple dates on which the processes were successfully served on the police, spanning April 3, May 21, November 14, November 17, January 28, and April 21.
While noting the responses filed by the other respondents, the judge heavily criticised the Nigeria Police Force for failing to participate diligently in the proceedings despite being aware of the suit.
“The 1st respondent [the police] is very much aware of the suit but refused to respond. This is viewed as an attempt to arrest this judgement, and this court will not allow it,” the judge held. Consequently, the court refused the motion of preliminary objection as well as the application of a party seeking to be joined.
In her final ruling, Justice Yilwa affirmed the boundary between enforcement and punishment. She clarified that although the police and the FRSC retain the power to stop motorists and enforce the provisions of the Third-Party Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, they lack the judicial backing to arbitrarily impose fines or administrative penalties on offending motorists without first obtaining a directive from a court of competent jurisdiction.
Legal analysts have described the judgement as a significant victory for the rule of law, noting that it curtails the powers of law enforcement agencies to act as the accuser, witness, and judge in traffic-related offences.
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