By: Edem Archibong, Calabar.
It has become a common practice that the Nigeria Police Force in Calabar, the Capital of Cross River State have no regards for the rule of law mostly as it concerns tinted glasses on vehicles be it private or official cars.
This situation became worrisome in Calabar recently as police traffic wardens including others uniform police officers came out to flock on the public highways to prevent all motorist from passing once they classified your vehicle glasses as tinted.
This development is not limited to demanding for your vehicle particulars alone, you most ensure that every person who drives a vehicle which looks tinted even if it is a factory fitted or an artificial tinted, such motorist must pay a fee of not less than #30,000,00 for permit to use such glasses.
A Journalist, who is a victim of the tinted glasses narrated his experience with the police officers, Mr. John Osakwe disclose that he was asked to park his vehicle and show his particulars to them for checking which he humbly did but after a careful perusal of the documents, he was asked to produce a police permit for tinted glasses, the Journalist explained that his vehicle is not a tinted one but the police continue to argue that the vehicle is dark inside therefore he must buy a permit.
Behold, “before I could say, Jack robbinson” the police have impounded not less than 500 vehicles were harrased and impouded, with no delay.
Another Journalist who was subjected to search party is the Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel, Emme Offiong explained that her vehicle was a factory fitted glasses but the police refused to listen unless she pay the sum of #30,000.00 for a tinted glasses until the Police PPRO, Irene Ugbo was contacted on phone before she was cleared.
Speaking on the situation in Calabar is Mr. Mba Ukweni, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) rebuked the police have no authority to impound vehicles on account of the glasses being a little dark or tinted if there is nothing incriminating in the vehicle and your particulars are intact.
He also declared that “the Court has restrained the police from impounding vehicles or harassing drivers on account of tinted glasses, and the police have to comply with the court order”, he said.
It could be recalled that a Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State had issued an interim injunction restraining the police from implementing or enforcing the recently announced tinted glasses permit policy in Nigeria.
