The Delta State High Court sitting in Orerokpe has restrained the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Nigeria Police Force from resuming the enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy nationwide.
Justice Joe Egwu, while ruling on a motion ex parte in a suit marked HOR/FHR/M/31/2025 filed by Mr Isreal Joe against the IGP and two others, through his counsel, Mr Kunle Edun (SAN), who led other lawyers, restrained, stopped and barred the respondents from resuming the enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy nationwide.
The order was sequel to the announcement by the Nigeria Police of its decision to resume the tinted glass permit enforcement on January 2, 2026.
Aside from the IGP, the court also restrained the Nigeria Police Force and the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command, from resuming the enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy nationwide.
Justice Egwu also barred the police from harassing, arresting, detaining or extorting citizens and motorists on account of the said policy, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The case has also reignited a dispute between the Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). The NBA has maintained that the matter remains before the courts and warned that enforcement could constitute contempt.
The association said a suit challenging the constitutionality of the policy had been filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, and that a judgment had been reserved following the conclusion of hearings.
The NBA further cited a Federal High Court order in Warri directing parties to maintain the status quo pending an interlocutory injunction. The association accused the police of disregarding the rule of law and urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene. “Any contrary executive action amounts to overreaching the Court and undermines the rule of law,” NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, said.
The police, through Force Public Relations Officer CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, insisted that no court order barred enforcement and defended its planned resumption on grounds of public security. Hundeyin noted a rise in crimes facilitated by vehicles with unauthorised tinted glass, citing incidents ranging from armed robbery to kidnapping.
“The Inspector-General of Police, out of respect and understanding, temporarily suspended enforcement to give Nigerians additional time to regularise their tinted glass permits.
That decision was not based on any court order but was a discretionary move to accommodate public concerns,” he said.
The announcement prompted warnings from the NBA that enforcement could trigger committal proceedings against the IGP and the Force spokesperson. The police, however, maintained that enforcement continues until directed otherwise by a court, highlighting recent incidents in which occupants of vehicles with tinted glass allegedly attacked officers.
The ruling by the Delta State High Court now legally bars the police from implementing the tinted glass permit policy nationwide while litigation on the policy’s constitutionality continues.
