A Federal High Court in Lagos, has barred Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) from impounding vehicles with faded number plates. This is even as the court barred the agency from imposing penalties on their owners.
This was contained in a ruling by Judge Akintayo Aluko, in a suit filed against the FRSC by Chinwike Ezebube, TheCable newspaper reported.
The lawyer, Ezebube in the suit filed on 13 February 2024, as the sole designer and producer of number plates in Nigeria, bears full responsibility for their durability. Consequently, the agency cannot justifiably impose penalties on vehicle owners for issues arising from the substandard quality of the number plates.
Having listened to arguments by the lawyer, the judge agreed with the plaintiff in his judgement delivered on Friday (17 January).
The Judge held that “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. This is upon payment of the requisite fees for that purpose.”
Aluko added, “By way of conclusion, I hold the view that the defendant cannot criminalize the use of faded vehicle number plates. And has no power to impose a fine on the plaintiff for using faded vehicle number plate. Or impound the plaintiff’s vehicle on such grounds without the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.”
The Judge also restrained the FRSC from declaring it an offence to drive with a faded vehicle number plate.
The judgment read: “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.
In his prayer, Ezebube had 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?”
The lawyer also urged the court to determine if the defendant (FRSC) can make it an offence and impose a penalty against him or other Nigerians for driving a vehicle with faded vehicle number plates due to poor quality production as designed and produced by the defendant?”
Ezebube, therefore, prayed the court to order the FRSC to replace faded number plates at no cost due to their poor-quality manufacturing.
However, the FRSC’s lawyer, B.O Nnamani, opposed the suit in a counter-affidavit. He urged the court to dismiss the argument of the petitioner.
The court upheld the plaintiff’s case in its Friday’s judgement.
source: Premium Times
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