A Federal High Court in Lagos has issued an order restraining the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from arresting drivers of vehicles with faded number plates, and from imposing fines or penalties for driving with such plates.
Justice Akintayo Aluko made the ruling on Friday in a case brought before the court by legal practitioner Chinwike Chamberlain Ezebube. In his lawsuit, Ezebube sought the court’s intervention in addressing the issue of vehicle number plates that fade due to poor quality production by the FRSC.
Ezebube, who filed the suit on February 13, 2024, questioned whether the FRSC, as the sole designer and producer of vehicle number plates in Nigeria, should be held fully responsible for the durability and quality of these plates. He also asked the court to decide if it was fair for the FRSC to penalize drivers for faded plates resulting from what he described as subpar manufacturing.
In his application, Ezebube requested that the court order the FRSC to replace faded vehicle number plates at no additional cost, beyond the initial issuance fee. He also asked the court to stop the FRSC from declaring it an offence to drive with a faded vehicle plate, and from imposing any fines or taking punitive action against drivers for such infractions.
The FRSC, through its lawyer B.O. Nnamani, contested the lawsuit and asked the court to dismiss the case with a punitive cost.
In delivering judgment, Justice Aluko concluded that the FRSC could not criminalize the use of faded vehicle number plates, nor could it fine or impound vehicles on these grounds without a court order. The judge emphasized that while the FRSC could not impose penalties, drivers were still responsible for seeking a replacement for their faded plates by paying the appropriate fees.
The court ordered the FRSC to stop declaring it an offence to drive with a faded number plate, and it restricted the agency from imposing fines or other punishments on drivers for this reason.
The court also directed the plaintiff, Ezebube, to approach the FRSC for a replacement of his faded number plate, LSD905EQ, upon payment of the required fee.
