Appeal court backs ruling stopping VIO from seizing vehicles

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a Federal High Court ruling that barred the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, popularly known as the VIO, from stopping vehicles, impounding cars or imposing fines on motorists in the Federal Capital Territory.

A three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the VIO, resolving all three issues raised for determination against the agency. Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi held that the appeal lacked merit and affirmed the earlier decision of the high court. The court also ordered the VIO to pay a cost of ₦1 million to the respondent, rights activist and public interest lawyer Abubakar Marshal.

Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court had earlier ruled that no existing law empowered the VIO to stop, seize or confiscate vehicles, or to impose fines on motorists for any alleged violation. The ruling was delivered in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Marshal.

Marshal told the court that VIO officials forcefully stopped him at Jabi District in Abuja on December 12, 2023, and confiscated his vehicle without any lawful justification. He asked the court to declare the action of the VIO wrongful, oppressive and a breach of his fundamental human rights.

In her judgment, Justice Maha granted all the reliefs sought by Marshal and specifically restrained the VIO or its agents from impounding vehicles or imposing fines on motorists, describing such actions as unlawful, oppressive and without legal backing.