Court Prohibits FRSC from Arresting Vehicles with Faded Number Plates
A Federal High Court in Lagos has issued an injunction against the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), preventing them from arresting vehicles that have faded number plates. The court also ruled that the FRSC cannot impose fines or penalties on drivers for operating vehicles with faded number plates.
Justice Aluko delivered the ruling in a case marked FHC/L/CS/253/2024, initiated by Chinwike Chamberlain Ezebube against the FRSC. The applicant, Ezebube, filed an Originating Summons on January 12, 2024, and submitted it on February 13, 2024, through his lawyer, U.G. Nwokedi. He sought the court’s determination on several questions:
1. Whether the FRSC, as the sole designer and producer of vehicle number plates in Nigeria under Section 5(g) and Section 10(3)(f) of the Federal Road Safety Commission Act 2007, is responsible for the quality and durability of the vehicle number plates it produces.
2. Whether the FRSC can be held liable for any defects, poor quality, or durability issues concerning the vehicle number plates it manufactures.
3. Whether the FRSC can penalize or threaten to penalize individuals, including the plaintiff and other Nigerians, for the deterioration of vehicle number plates due to the quality of production.
4. Whether it is lawful for the FRSC to impose penalties on those driving vehicles with faded number plates resulting from poor production quality and whether the FRSC is obligated to replace these number plates at no cost when they fade due to manufacturing defects.
The plaintiff urged the court to issue the following orders if the above questions were resolved in his favor:
– An order restraining the FRSC from declaring it an offense for drivers to operate vehicles with faded number plates.
– An order preventing the FRSC from imposing fines or punishments on drivers for operating vehicles with faded number plates.
– An order mandating the FRSC to replace the faded vehicle license number plates of the plaintiff’s vehicle(s) at no additional cost, upon the payment of the initial issuance fee for the number plates.
– Any other declarations or orders as the court deems appropriate in this case.
In response, the FRSC, represented by its lawyer B.O. Nnamani, filed a counter affidavit urging the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit with punitive costs.
Justice Aluko, In his judgment, held, “While the defendant cannot criminalize the use of faded vehicle number plates, 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 criminalize the use of a faded vehicle number Plate 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.
“Having examined the affidavit evidence before the court and determined the above questions, judgment is entered as follows: “An order of the Honourable Court restricting the Federal Road Safety Commission, 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, from imposing any fine or punishment on the plaintiff for driving with a faded vehicle number plate is granted. An order directing the plaintiff to approach the defendant for the replacement of his faded vehicle number plate LSD905EQ and that the defendant shall replace the same upon payment of the reasonable and requisite fee is granted.”
“An order of the honourable court restricting the Federal Road Safety Commission, from imposing any fine or punishment on the plaintiff for driving with a faded vehicle number plate is granted. An order directing the plaintiff to approach the defendant for the replacement of his faded vehicle number plate LSD905EQ and that the defendant shall replace the same upon payment of the reasonable and requisite fee is granted.” Read More
