The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Thursday, affirmed the judgment barring the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and its enforcers – the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) – from confiscating vehicles or imposing fines on motorists.
A three-member panel of the court unanimously dismissed the appeal filed by the DRTS and other FCT officials challenging the 2 October 2024 verdict of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
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In the lead judgement read by Oyejoju Oyewumi, the court said it saw no reason to overturn the Federal high Court’s judgement and went on to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.
Trial judge Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court in Abuja had in her judgement delivered on 2 October 2024 barred the DRTS in Abuja and other defendants from harassing vehicle owners by impounding their vehicles and imposing fines on them.
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Ms Maha issued the order in a judgement on a fundamental rights enforcement suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023, and filed by a human rights activist and lawyer, Abubakar Marshal, of Falana and Falana chambers.
In the suit seeking redress for the violation of his fundamental human rights, Mr Marshal told the court that he was forcefully stopped by VIOs at Jabi District in Abuja on 12 December 2023. He said the VIOs confiscated his vehicle without any lawful justification.
He sued the DRTS in Abuja, two officials of the Jabi area command of the agency and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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Delivering judgement on 2 October 2024, Ms Maha ruled that the respondents violated Mr Marshal’s right to own a property as guaranteed by section 42 of the Nigerian constitution and Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right.
The court also held that only a court of competent jurisdiction can impose a fine or sanction any motorist found to have acted in breach of any extant law.
It upheld Mr Marshal’s argument that no law empowers the respondents – the FCT Director of Road Transport Services and other agents of the FCT authorities – to stop, impound, confiscate, seize, or impose fines on motorists.
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The judge declared that the relevant FCT authorities, who are under the control of the 5th respondent (Minister of the FCT), are not empowered by any law or statute to stop, impound, or confiscate the vehicles of motorists and or impose fines on motorists.
She proceeded to issue an order restraining the DRTS and VIOs in the FCT and other relevant agencies of the FCT, either through their agents, servants, and or assigns from impounding, confiscating the vehicle of motorists, or imposing a fine on any motorist as doing so is wrongful, oppressive, and unlawful by themselves.
Ms Maha further made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further violating the rights of Nigerians to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence and right to own property without lawful justification.
Although the applicant, through his team of lawyers led by Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), demanded N500 million as general/aggravated damages, as well as an apology to be published in three national dailies, the court only awarded him N2.5 million compensation.
The judgement was affirmed by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
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