BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI
The Executive Director, Accident Prevention and Rescue Initiative (APRI), Amb. Fidelis Nnadi, said that the court judgment which banned the activities of Vehicles Inspection Officers (VIOs) on the roads is applicable only in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Nnadi, who stated this in an interview with our reporter in Abuja, noted that the court judgement did not say under Nigeria law, but under FCT Law.
He maintained that the judgment is specifically for FCT because there is nothing like Nigeria VIOs as a body like the FRSC, stating that the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) in the FCT being the defendant in the suit did not have any law empowering the VIOs to be on the road.
Recall that on December 4, 2025, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, affirmed the judgment of a Federal High Court, which halted the DRTS, also known as VIOs, from further stopping, impounding, or confiscating vehicles on the roads and imposing fines on motorists.
The appellate court, in the judgment delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyebiola Oyewumi, held that the case of the VIOs which challenged the judgment of the lower court lacked in merit.
However, the Executive Director of APRI said that Nigerian motorists must ignore many bloggers making the news that the VIOs have been banned in all the states of the federation.
“This is completely false and should be ignored for harmonious relationship between motorists and enforcement officers (VIOs) in the 36 states of Nigeria.
That court judgment they are referring to did not say under Nigeria law, but under FCT Law.
This is specifically for FCT as we don’t have Nigeria VIOs as a body like the FRSC,” he said.
Nnadi said that bloggers should stop deceiving Nigerians to believe that other VIOs in the 36 states have been banned as a result of the FCT court judgment, adding that the judgment starts and stops within FCT jurisdiction.
“Save yourself from trouble by complying with road traffic and safety rules to have peaceful drive on Federal and State roads,” he added.