Under the banner of Deji Adeyanju and Partners, lawyers have called on Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to suspend the planned enforcement of third-party vehicle insurance within 48 hours.
Recently, the Nigeria Police Force announced it would begin enforcing Third Party Motor Insurance for vehicle owners nationwide starting February 1, 2025. The IGP disclosed this during a meeting with the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, and his team in Abuja.
In a letter to the IGP titled “Urgent Request to Halt the Proposed Enforcement of Third-Party Insurance for Vehicle Owners,” and signed by Deji Adeyanju, the law firm expressed its intent to approach the courts. The firm aims to question whether the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is legally empowered to enforce third-party vehicle insurance.
Adeyanju argued that the proposed enforcement lacks popularity and legal backing under the Police Act, which governs the NPF. He further claimed that implementing the policy could lead to increased extortion of Nigerian motorists by police officers.
The statement noted: “We must immediately state that not only is the proposed enforcement unpopular, it is also not backed by the Police Act, being the extant law setting up the Nigerian Police Force, and we dare say any other law. The power to regulate issues bordering on the safety of persons and vehicles on Nigerian roads is rather domiciled with the Federal Road Safety Corps. Wide as the powers of the Nigeria Police may be, it cannot be extended to those issues that are not directly connected to its fundamental duties under the Police Act.
“In a plethora of cases, and more recently in the case of Nwaboshi v F.R.N & Ors (2023) LPELR-60698 (SC), the Supreme Court reiterated the principle that the powers of security agencies in Nigeria are not large.
“Indeed, the powers of the Nigerian Police Force are not large. It is our opinion, sir, that the Nigerian Police Force lacks the vires to enforce third-party insurance in Nigeria, and the proposed enforcement must be immediately discarded.”
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