NBA-SPIDEL: Police Suspend Tinted Permit Enforcement

Steve Aya

The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) and the Nigeria Police Force have agreed to review the tinted permit policy, to ensure it aligns with public interest and national security objectives.

Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, Prof Paul Ananaba, SAN disclosed this in Lagos during an interactive session held ahead of the NBA-SPIDEL 2025 Conference, explaining that the decision followed weeks of engagement between both parties, after complaints of harassment of motorists by Police officers enforcing the tinted glass permit directive.

“Following our discussions with senior Police officers, we agreed that enforcement of the tinted permit should be suspended while a joint review Committee is constituted”, Prof Ananaba said. He stated that the Committee, made up of representatives of NBA-SPIDEL and the Nigeria Police, will examine the legal and security implications of the policy and propose new regulatory guidelines. According to him, NBA-SPIDEL’s engagement with the Police was not confrontational, but aimed at promoting accountability and justice in public administration.

Prof Ananaba, added that the Association had also filed a suit against the Police over alleged discriminatory enforcement of the policy, stressing that such actions were necessary to uphold the rule of law. He further announced that the NBA-SPIDEL 2025 Conference which will hold in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State from December 1- 5, 2025, will be focusing on justice reform, governance, and international cooperation for human rights promotion.

At the same event, the Vance Centre for International Justice, a non-profit arm of the New York City Bar Association, proposed a partnership with NBA-SPIDEL to institutionalise pro bono legal services and strengthen public interest law across Africa.

Director of the Centre’s Africa Initiative, Adaobi Egboka, said the collaboration would help develop a structured pro bono framework, create a database of participating law firms, and establish standards for measuring legal aid contributions. She also urged the Nigerian Bar to support a proposed “Pro Bono Declaration for Africa”, which would commit law firms to dedicating specific hours annually to free legal services for the underprivileged.

“Our goal is to build a stronger, data-driven, and institutionalised pro bono culture across Africa”, Egboka stated.