- In a unanimous judgment, Justices Amina Audi Wambai, M. Lawal Abubakar, and Ntong F. Ntong upheld the FRSC’s liability for rights violations.
It’s illegal for the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to withhold drivers’ licences, vehicles, or related documents without a lawful justification, a court has ruled.
The ruling was part of a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State, in a legal action instituted against the FRSC.
This decision came in Appeal No: CA/OW/199/2022, filed by the FRSC, the Corps Marshal, and an officer identified by Uniform No. COSS 35 (as 1st to 3rd Appellants), against Dr. Emmanuel Ugochukwu Shebbs (Respondent).
The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the High Court of Abia State, which had earlier ruled that such seizures are a violation of fundamental human rights.
In a unanimous judgment, Justices Amina Audi Wambai, M. Lawal Abubakar, and Ntong F. Ntong upheld the FRSC’s liability for rights violations.
However, the court reduced the damages awarded to the respondent from N30 million to N10 million, covering general and exemplary damages.
The litigation was elicited by an incident in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, when FRSC officers stopped Shebbs along Bende Road in Umuahia.
According to him, after inspecting his car and finding no fault, the officers demanded a bribe.
When he refused to pay, they conducted a second inspection, claimed his tyre was worn out, and subsequently seized his driver’s licence and issued a N3,000 fine.
Rather than pay the fine, Shebbs approached the High Court in Abia to seek redress, citing the unlawful seizure as a violation of his fundamental rights
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