The Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps from imposing fines on motorists over third-party motor vehicle insurance without a court order.

The ruling followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/291/2025 filed by activist-lawyer Deji Adeyanju against the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the FRSC.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Hauwa Yilwa held that while the police and FRSC have powers to enforce compliance with third-party motor insurance laws, they do not have the legal authority to impose fines on alleged offenders.

The suit was brought under provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act 1950, the Insurance Act 2003, and the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act 2007.

Adeyanju had asked the court to determine whether the police could enforce third-party insurance, impose fines without judicial backing, and whether such enforcement during routine stop-and-search operations violated constitutional rights.

He also sought a declaration on whether the authority to enforce third-party insurance lies exclusively with the FRSC.

According to counsel to the applicant, Marvin Omorogbe, the court distinguished between enforcement powers and punishment powers.

He said the court upheld the authority of both agencies to ensure compliance, but ruled against their power to fine motorists directly.

“The police and the road safety may enforce compliance but outrightly lack the powers to impose fines on third parties or vehicle owners,” he said.

He added that the court restrained the Inspector-General of Police, officers of the Nigeria Police Force, and the FRSC from imposing such fines on Nigerians.

Reacting to the judgment, Adeyanju said the key objective of the case had been achieved.

“The sole reason why we came to court is that we wanted the court to make a positive declaration that the police and the road safety do not have the right to impose fines on any Nigerian over motor vehicle insurance. And we have succeeded,” he said.

He argued that the decision would help reduce extortion by enforcement agencies and improve motorists’ confidence.

However, counsel to the defendants, Victor Okoye, said the judgment was only partly favourable to the police and indicated plans to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.

He said the defence had raised objections over the court’s jurisdiction and argued that the case was wrongly initiated through an originating summons.

Okoye also maintained that the suit was improperly filed because the Inspector-General of Police was named instead of the Nigeria Police Force as a corporate entity.

Despite this, he acknowledged that the judgment affirmed the concurrent powers of the police and FRSC to stop vehicles, conduct searches, and verify compliance with third-party insurance requirements.