Court Bars FRSC From Arresting Vehicles, Penalising Drivers With Faded Number Plates

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) was prevented from arresting vehicles with faded license plates by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Justice Akintayo Aluko issued the order on Friday, and it also forbade the FRSC from imposing any fines or penalties on anyone who drives with a car plate number that has faded.

The court entered the judgment in Chinwike Chamberlain Ezebube’s legal action against the FRSC while rendering the orders.

Ezebube had asked the court to consider, among other things, whether the defendant is solely responsible for the design and production of vehicle number plates in Nigeria under Sections 5 (g) and 10 (3) (f) of the Federal Road Safety Commission Act 2007 and is not entirely responsible for the quality and durability of the vehicle number plates as they are produced.

“Whether the defendant can prosecute the plaintiff and other Nigerians for operating vehicles with faded license plates resulting from the defendant’s design and production of poor quality vehicles?

“Whether the defendant is not obligated to replace the defendant’s vehicle number plates when the plaintiff’s and other Nigerians’ have faded because the defendant manufactured them in poor quality”?

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The attorney requested that the judge rule on these issues. He also urged the court to issue an order for the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to stop the Plaintiff from operating a vehicle with a faded vehicle number plate.

An order forbids the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) from punishing the driver for operating a vehicle with a faded license plate.

“An order mandating the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to replace the Plaintiff’s vehicle or vehicles’ faded vehicle plate numbers upon payment of the initial vehicle plate number issuance cost at no extra cost,” according to an order.

However, the FRSC through its lawyer, B. O Nnamani, filed a counter affidavit asking the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit with punitive cost.

Justice Aluko declared in judgment that while defendant cannot make the use of faded vehicle number plates illegal, plaintiff has a duty to contact defendant to request that his vehicle number plate be replaced after paying the necessary costs.

According to the court, “By way of conclusion, I think that Defendant has no authority to fine the plaintiff for using the vehicle number plate in a manner that is contrary to what the court of competent jurisdiction has ordered.”

Following the court’s examination of the affidavit evidence and the answers to the following, judgment is entered: “An order of the Honourable Court is given to stop the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) from deeming driving with a faded vehicle number plate an offense.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is prohibited from imposing any fines or penalties on the violators who drive with a faded vehicle number plate by an order of the honorable court.

Source: Channels TV