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As Court Tackles FRSC’s over Substandard Number Plates

Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief with the recent Federal High Court judgment halting the tyranny of officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps who sometimes extort or harass motorists on the roads for the substandard vehicle numbers plate supplied by the agency, Ejiofor Alike reports
Motorists and other road users in Nigeria were elated with the recent judgment delivered by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, in Lagos, restraining the officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from arresting vehicles with faded number plates.
Before this development, officers of the FRSC and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) were clamping down on motorists, extorting and harassing them on the roads for using faded vehicle number plates, which drivers blamed on their poor quality.
Agents of some state governments and other law-enforcement agents had also followed the footsteps of FRSC and imposed fines on motorists with defective vehicle registration number plates, including fading ones.
Motorists were made to pay a heavy fine of up to N20,000 and directed to procure a new number plate for no fault of theirs.
The latest approved number plate bears the inscription of the Nigerian map.
Many Nigerians had wondered why the FRSC and other agents of government should punish motorists for using substandard plate numbers sold to them by the FRSC.
They blamed the FRSC and their contractors for providing poor quality plate numbers that could not withstand the weather conditions and laying ambush on the roads to extort and harass the users of such plate numbers.
However, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT VIO), Mr Kalu Emetu, had told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the arrest of motorists with faded plate numbers was not to extort them but to ensure compliance with traffic rules.
Emetu argued that all vehicle number plates must be visible from at least from 50 metres, otherwise it was an offence to use it.
He said that if a clear view could not be achieved, then the number plate was not performing its function.
“For example, if a vehicle is stolen, it’s the number plate that will be used to identify the vehicle to report to security agencies.
“Car owners should avoid the use of hard sponge and all types of cleaning agents because it could affect the number plate paint,” he said.
Emetu stated that the VIO resorted to enforcement of fines after it carried out a series of enlightenment programmes on radio.
“We have been going on air to explain the need to have a clear and bold number plate,” he reportedly added
Motorists however, insisted that the VIO should blame the FRSC for the substandard number plates, which fade easily, instead of heaping the blame entirely on them.
But in defending the clampdown on motorists, the FRSC Public Education Officer, Mr Bisi Kazeem, had dismissed the allegation of low quality of the number plates, insisting that the vehicle number plates were produced under strict supervision of its quality control officers.
In an interview with NAN recently, he revealed that the materials for the number plates were being procured from an unnamed recognised manufacturer whose standards could not be compromised.
Kazeem further added that vehicle number plates have a minimum life span of five years if properly used; “that is why there is provision for replacement”.
The FRSC spokesman accused car wash attendants of damaging number plates by using abrasive materials to clean it.
“For example, the use of thinner, a chemical for cleaning tiles. The weather in some parts of the country also contributes to fading, considering where the vehicle is parked,” he reportedly claimed.
However, car wash owners, motorists and car dealers have disputed this claim and blamed the fading of the plate numbers on their poor quality.
Analysts have also described the action of the FRSC in punishing motorists for its own incompetence and deception as wicked, callous and insensitive.
But relief came for motorists following a suit filed against the FRSC on February 13, 2024 by a legal practitioner, Chinwike Ezebube. The presiding judge, Justice Aluko restricted the corps from imposing fines or punishing drivers for driving with a faded number plate.
Among the issues raised, Ezebube asked the court to determine “whether the defendant, pursuant to Section 5 (g) and Section 10 (3)(f) of the Federal Road Safety Commission Act 2007 being the sole designer and producer of vehicle number plates in Nigeria, is not absolutely responsible for the quality and durability of the vehicle number plates as are produced by it?
“Whether the defendant can make it an offence and impose a penalty against the plaintiff and or other Nigerians for driving a vehicle with faded vehicle number plates due to poor quality production as designed and produced by the defendant?”
The lawyer also prayed the court to order the FRSC to replace faded number plates at no cost due to their poor-quality manufacturing.
He argued that the FRSC, as the sole designer and producer of number plates in Nigeria, bears full responsibility for their durability.
He further insisted that the agency cannot justifiably impose penalties on vehicle owners for issues arising from the substandard quality of the number plates.
However, BO Nnamani, counsel to the FRSC, filed a counter affidavit asking the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit with punitive cost.
But the judge agreed with the plaintiff in his judgement delivered on Friday, January 17.
Justice Aluko, in his judgment, held that “while the defendant cannot criminalise the use of faded vehicle number plates, stating that the plaintiff has a duty to approach the defendant for a replacement of his faded vehicle number plate upon payment of the requisite fees for that purpose.
“By way of conclusion, I hold the view that the defendant cannot criminalise the use of faded vehicle number plates and has no power to impose a fine on the plaintiff for using a faded vehicle number plate or impound the plaintiff’s vehicle on such grounds without the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
“An order of the honourable court restricting the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) from declaring it an offence to drive with a faded vehicle number plate is granted.
“An order of the honourable court restricting the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), from imposing any fine or punishment on the plaintiff for driving with a faded vehicle number plate is granted
“An order directing plaintiff to approach defendant for the replacement of his faded vehicle number plate LSD905EQ and that defendant shall replace the same upon payment of the reasonable and requisite fee is granted.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians, especially the residents of Lagos have applauded the judgment.
In separate interviews with the NAN, the residents urged the FRSC to ensure the production of quality number plates that would not fade.
They wondered why the FRSC would inflict pain on vehicle owners by imposing fines for the fading of the number plates it produced.