Appeal Court Upholds Ban on VIO Vehicle Stops, Raises Total Cost Against Agency to N3.5m

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the October 2, 2024 decision of the Federal High Court that stopped the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, widely known as VIO, from halting vehicles on the road, impounding them, or issuing fines. The appellate panel of three dismissed the agency’s appeal and agreed that the earlier judgment was sound.

Justice Oyejoju Oyebiola Oyewumi, who delivered the lead judgment, ruled that the appeal lacked merit and ordered the DRTS to pay an additional N1 million in costs to Abuja-based rights advocate and public interest lawyer Marshall Abubakar. This brings the total cost awarded against the agency to N3.5 million, following the Federal High Court’s earlier N2.5 million award.

Abubakar had taken the matter to the Federal High Court after officials of the agency seized his Honda vehicle without giving him an opportunity to defend himself. The suit also listed the Director of Road Transport, the Area Commander in Jabi, the Team Leader in Jabi, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory as co-defendants.

Justice Evelyn Maha, who delivered the high court judgment last October, agreed with Abubakar that no existing law gives the DRTS or its officials the authority to stop vehicles, impound or confiscate them, or impose fines on motorists. She described such actions as unlawful and oppressive, and issued a perpetual injunction preventing the agency and all those acting under it from carrying out these practices or infringing on citizens’ rights to movement, property, and the presumption of innocence.

With the appellate court’s decision now reinforcing that ruling, the restrictions imposed on the DRTS remain firmly in place, and the financial penalty against the agency has increased.