Despite a subsisting court order restraining the Nigeria Police from enforcing the tinted glass permit policy, policemen in Calabar, Cross River State, have continued to harass motorists and impound vehicles under the guise of enforcing the law.

A team of journalists who monitored the situation on Wednesday observed a group of policemen and traffic wardens stationed in front of the Akim Police Station along IBB Way, stopping vehicles and demanding tinted glass permits from drivers.

The officers, numbering about fifteen, were seen impounding cars, including some without tinted glasses, and interrogating motorists over the alleged use of “factory-fitted tinted glass.”

One of the victims, Mr John Osakwe, a journalist in the state, recounted how he was stopped while driving past the police station.

“I parked and showed them all my complete papers,” he said. “But one of the officers claimed that my front glass was different from the back glass and demanded a permit. I told him the vehicle glass is not tinted.”

Osakwe said the officer forcibly removed his car key and insisted they had orders “from above” to impound any vehicle whose front and rear glasses were of different shades.

“When I called the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Irene Ugbo, she asked me to hand over the phone to the officer. After a brief discussion, my key was returned, but the officer still insisted I must get a tinted glass permit for ₦30,000,” he added.

Another motorist, Mr Edem Udofia, said his commercial bus was seized and taken into the station on the same grounds.

“They said my bus glass was dark even though it came that way from the factory. I’ve not gone in yet; I’m still trying to find someone who can help. My family depends on that bus,” he lamented.

Reacting to the development, Mba Ukweni (SAN) faulted the police action, describing it as unlawful and contemptuous of the court.