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In his petition, Adeyanju argued that the move is not only unpopular but also lacks legal backing under the Police Act, which governs the operations of the Nigerian Police Force.
Nigerian human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, calling for the immediate suspension of the proposed enforcement of third-party insurance for vehicle owners.
In his petition, Adeyanju argued that the move is not only unpopular but also lacks legal backing under the Police Act, which governs the operations of the Nigerian Police Force.
Adeyanju further alleged that the enforcement, if carried out, could lead to widespread extortion of Nigerians across the country.
He pointed out that the responsibility for regulating vehicle safety and related issues lies with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), not the police.
According to Adeyanju, the Nigerian Police Force does not have the legal authority, or “vires,” to impose such enforcement on vehicle owners.
The human rights lawyer has given the authorities 48 hours to publicly halt the enforcement, warning that failure to do so would prompt him to approach the court to seek a judicial review on whether the Nigerian Police Force has the legal power to enforce third-party insurance.
The statement read, “We are a public interest law firm committed to promoting transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
“A few days ago, we stumbled upon a news report on the decision of the Nigeria Police Force to enforce third-party insurance for vehicle owners. Although our initial reaction was to dismiss the news as being the product of some blogger’s imagination, subsequent confirmation of the news by your good self has compelled us to urgently write this letter to you, sir, requesting that the proposed enforcement be shelved.
“Sir, we must immediately state that not only is the proposed enforcement unpopular, it is also not backed by the Police Act, being the extant law setting up the Nigerian Police Force, and we dare say, any other law.
He said the power to regulate issues bordering on the safety of persons and vehicles on Nigerian roads is rather domiciled with the Federal Road Safety Corps.
“Wide as the powers of the Nigeria Police may be, it cannot be extended to those issues that are not directly connected to its fundamental duties under the Police Act.
Adeyanju explained that in a plethora of cases, and more recently in the case of Nwaboshi v F.R.N & Ors (2023) LPELR-60698 (SC), the Supreme Court reiterated the principle that the powers of security agencies in Nigeria are not large.
“Indeed, the powers of the Nigerian Police Force are not large. It is our opinion, sir, that the Nigerian Police Force lacks the vires to enforce third-party insurance for vehicle owners in Nigeria, and the proposed enforcement must be immediately discarded.
“Additionally, it will appear, sir, that the Nigeria Police Force under your leadership is increasingly tilting towards revenue generation, as against its core constitutional mandate of protecting lives and properties in Nigeria.”
He said in a few months ago, the Nigeria Police Force came up with another unpopular idea of requesting Nigerians to pay the sum of N5,375 to register their vehicles on the Police Central Motor Registry platform.
“It took the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians before the proposed enforcement of the police CMR was halted.
“Barely two months later, we are again faced with the decision of the Nigeria Police Force to enforce third-party vehicle insurance, a decision that you are aware will ultimately lead to further extortion of helpless Nigerian motorists by officers of the Nigeria Police Force,” the lawyer stated.
“We must, therefore, ask, why is the Nigeria Police fixated on policies that are apparently aimed at generating money, while the vast majority of Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones continue to suffer from grave insecurity ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, murder, etc. How does the third-party vehicle insurance solve our immediate security issues?
He said, “Putting the foregoing into consideration, it is our opinion, sir, that the proposed enforcement has not been well thought out and must be immediately discarded.”
The human rights lawyer noted that the policies that are increasingly being churned out by the Nigeria Police Force under your leadership, though masked with security considerations, are indeed money generating schemes that has become too much for the average Nigerian to bear.
“We, therefore, appeal to you to shelve the enforcement of the third-party motor insurance.”
“Please note that if the proposed enforcement is not publicly halted within 48 hours, sir, we will approach the Court to determine, amongst others, whether the Nigeria Police Force has the powers to enforce third-party vehicle insurance for vehicle owners,” he added.
