Abuja, December 4, 2025 – The Court of Appeal in Abuja has delivered a landmark judgment that permanently bars the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), popularly known as the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), from stopping vehicles on the road, impounding or confiscating them, or imposing fines on motorists within the Federal Capital Territory.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday by a three-member panel led by Justice Oyejoju Oyebiola Oyewumi, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the DRTS and upheld in its entirety the October 2, 2024 judgment of the Federal High Court. The lower court had declared such actions by VIO unconstitutional and a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement, and property.
Reading the lead judgment, Justice Oyewumi held that the appeal lacked merit and that no provision of the law empowers the DRTS to carry out coercive enforcement actions on public roads. The court described the practice of stopping vehicles at will, towing them away, or demanding cash fines as “wrongful, oppressive, and unlawful.”
The appellate court further awarded costs of N1 million against the DRTS in favour of the respondent, human rights activist and public interest lawyer Abubakar Marshal, bringing the total cost awarded against the agency in the matter to N3.5 million.
The case originated from a December 2023 incident in which Marshal’s vehicle was allegedly seized by VIO officers in Jabi District, Abuja, without due process. Represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana, Marshal instituted the suit seeking to end what he described as years of extortion, harassment, and illegal enforcement by VIO officials across the FCT.
The Federal High Court, in its October ruling, granted all the reliefs sought except a public apology, awarded N2.5 million in damages, and issued a perpetual injunction restraining the DRTS and its agents from further violations. Thursday’s appeal court decision has now sealed that judgment.
The ruling has been widely celebrated by motorists, transport unions, and civil society organisations who have long complained that VIO operations had degenerated into revenue collection through intimidation rather than genuine road safety enforcement. Many Nigerians have shared personal stories of being forced to pay arbitrary fines for minor or non-existent infractions, with vehicles sometimes towed away and held until “settlement” was made.
Legal experts say the judgment clarifies the limits of VIO’s powers: the agency may only conduct vehicle inspections at designated centres and issue advisory reports, but it has no constitutional or statutory authority to act as a mobile court or to punish motorists on the spot. Only the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the police, when properly empowered, can carry out such enforcement on federal roads.
The decision is expected to have far-reaching consequences for traffic management in Abuja and may inspire similar legal challenges in other states where state-owned VIO units operate in the same manner.
Reacting shortly after the judgment, Abubakar Marshal described the outcome as “a victory for every Nigerian motorist who has suffered harassment and extortion at the hands of VIO.” He urged the FCT Administration to immediately withdraw all VIO personnel from the roads and redeploy them to vehicle testing centres where they can perform their legitimate functions without violating citizens’ rights.
While the FCT Administration has indicated it will study the judgment and decide on next steps, including a possible appeal to the Supreme Court, motorists in Abuja have already begun celebrating what many are calling “the end of VIO wahala.”
For now, the roads of the Federal Capital Territory belong once again to the people — free from the fear of arbitrary vehicle seizures and roadside fines.
