In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel ruled that there was no reason to set aside the October 16, 2024 judgment, which had prohibited VIO officials from harassing motorists.

By Titilope Adako

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday upheld a Federal High Court judgment that bars the Directorate of Road Traffic Services and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) from stopping motorists, seizing vehicles, or imposing fines on road users.

In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel ruled that there was no reason to set aside the October 16, 2024 judgment, which had prohibited VIO officials from harassing motorists.

The appeal filed by the VIO was dismissed for lacking merit in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi.

Earlier, Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court had held that no existing law authorizes VIO personnel to stop, impound, confiscate, or fine motorists.

The case stemmed from a fundamental rights suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023) instituted by public interest lawyer Abubakar Marshal, who told the court that VIO operatives forcefully stopped him in the Jabi district on December 12, 2023, and unlawfully confiscated his vehicle.

He asked the court to declare the officers’ conduct wrongful, oppressive, unlawful, and a violation of his fundamental rights.

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