THE CONTROVERSY OVER BAN ON TINTED GLASS VEHICLE BY CSP FRANK MBA

The Police High Command has observed with concern the
unnecessary controversies that have trailed the recent IGP’s announcement on
the ban on the indiscriminate use of tinted glasses on vehicles plying Nigerian
roads.

The Force has observed that one of the issues that have
generated so much contention and sometimes endless arguments between Police
Officers enforcing the ban on the one hand, and motorists on the other hand, is
the contention by some vehicle owners that there is no valid law restricting
the use of tinted vehicle glasses in Nigeria. Others who claim to be aware of
the legal restriction argue that because the tints on their glasses are
‘factory-fitted’, they are under no legal obligation to obtain a permit. Yet,
others hinge their arguments and objections on the fact that their car tints
are not as dark as others and thus, should be excused from the requirements of
obtaining permits.

While some of these arguments may sound persuasive or even
plausible, they are unfortunately devoid of any known legal foundation.
Nigerian Laws are unequivocal in their restrictions on the use of tinted
vehicle glasses. For instance, regulation 66(2) of the National Road Traffic
Regulations (1997) provides that:
‘All glasses fitted to a vehicle shall be clear and transparent to enable
persons outside the vehicle see whoever is inside the vehicle and the glasses
shall in no way be tinted except as may be approved by the Inspector-General of
Police for security reasons.’ (Emphasis mine)

However, it will appear that the most comprehensive legislation
on the use of tinted car glasses in Nigeria is the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition
of Tinted Glass) Act, CAP M21 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Formerly
Decree No. 6 of 1991).

According to Section 1 (1) of this Act, except with the
permission of the ‘appropriate authority’ and for ‘good cause’, “no person
shall cause any glass fitted to a vehicle to be tinted, shaded, coloured
lightly or thickly, darkened or treated in any way so as to render obscure or
invisible persons or objects inside the car”. Under the Act, it is also an
offence to aid, counsel or procure the commission of the offence.

From the reading of the law, it is clear that the law made no
distinction between manually fitted tints and factory fitted tints.

For purposes of the Law, ‘appropriate authority’ refers to the
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) or any other person duly delegated by him,
while ‘good cause’ means health or security reasons. The implication of the
above is that it is only the IGP or any such person or persons duly authorized
by him that can issue a tinted glass permit. In addition, such permit can only
be issued on health or security grounds.

Owners of vehicles with tinted glasses are therefore mandated by
law to seek the authorization of the IGP before deploying such vehicles on our
roads, whether such vehicles came with factory tints or whether the tints were
manually fitted.

However, by the operation of Section 3 of the Act, such persons
– importer, buyer, donee – have 14 days grace, from the date of the purchase of
the car or the date of arrival of the car in Nigeria (whichever is applicable)
to either remove the tinted glasses or obtain the tinted glass permit.

Persons convicted for committing offences under this Law are
liable to a fine of N2,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or
both fine and imprisonment. Where the offence is committed by a corporate body,
the Police may by the operation of Section 4(2) of the Act, proceed against its
director, proprietor, manager, or other senior officers of the organization.

It must be noted that legal restriction on the use of tinted car
glasses is not peculiar to Nigeria.

There are many countries – both developed and developing – with
similar restrictions. The law is designed to promote and protect the collective
security of all, through visual transparency. It reduces the chances of persons
plying vehicles with opaque glasses from ferrying dangerous objects such as
explosive devices, arms, ammunition and other incriminating materials undetected
from one part of the country to the other. It is also designed to enhance the
smooth discharge of Police duties, by making the monitoring of motorists easy.
It is therefore advisable that persons without good reason to use tinted
glasses in their cars should refrain from doing so.

In Nigeria at the moment, the decision by the Police High
Command to ensure a strict enforcement of the relevant laws prohibiting
unauthorized use of tinted glasses on our roads is predicated on the need to
effectively tackle contemporary security challenges in the land and ultimately
serve the common good of all Nigerians. Intelligence reports and empirical
statistics at the disposal of the Police Force indicate that majority of crimes
relating to terrorism, suicide bombing, kidnapping, gun-running, human
trafficking, armed robbery and other related offences are committed with the
use of vehicles with tinted glasses. Perpetrators of these heinous crimes hide
under the cover of tinted glasses to ply their nefarious trade. It has
therefore become a matter of urgent national security importance that
indiscriminate use of vehicles with tinted glasses be checked in accordance
with our laws.

The good news however is that the Law authorizes the appropriate
authority (in this case the IGP) to issue tinted permits to Nigerians on health
and security grounds if they are so qualified. Persons desirous of obtaining
tinted glass authorization are advised to follow the following steps:

(a) Write a formal application to the IGP for the use of factory
tinted glasses, stating the reason for use, bearing in mind that approval of
such application is predicated on health or security reasons only.
(b) Applications should be accompanied with the following:
(i) Photocopies of all relevant particulars of the vehicle.
(ii) Photograph of the vehicle.
(iii) Profile of the applicant with relevant background information.
(iv) Passport size photograph of the owner of the vehicle.
(v) Any other supporting document/information that may help to justify the request.

The Police authority conscious of the fact that some
unscrupulous Police Officers may take advantage of the new regime of
enforcement to engage in the harassment and extortion of helpless motorists,
has issued strong warnings to all Policemen charged with the responsibility of
enforcing the law to ensure that they act within the confines of the enabling
laws and the Police Code of Conduct at all times.

Command Commissioners of Police have been charged to ensure
strict supervision of men deployed for these duties while the IGP Monitoring
Units have been empowered to arrest and bring to book any officer found acting
in a manner inconsistent with his or her oath of office. Police Officers are
also warned to desist from harassing Nigerians who have already obtained valid
tinted glass permits, as provided by the extant laws.

Finally, the Inspector-General of Police calls for the support,
understanding and cooperation of all Nigerians, including corporate citizens as
the Force embarks on a strict enforcement of the tinted glass laws.