Road Tensions Rise: VIO Reacts After Appeal Court Halts Vehicle Confiscations

The Department of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), widely known as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), has announced its intention to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling that prohibits its officials from stopping vehicles, issuing fines, or impounding cars for traffic violations.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Acting Director Deborah Osho made the disclosure in an interview with Punch on Thursday, following the appellate court’s decision to uphold an earlier Federal High Court judgment.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, dismissed the VIO’s appeal, declaring it lacked merit. In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel upheld the October 16, 2024 ruling, which barred VIO officials from harassing motorists. Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, delivering the lead judgment, stated that there was no justification to overturn the lower court’s verdict.

Reacting to the judgment, Osho described it as harmful to public order and affirmed the department’s resolve to challenge it.

“We will certainly appeal. As a correspondent, do you see what is happening in the city right now? Look at Airport Road — it has practically become a one-way because of the chaos,” she said.

Osho attributed the growing disregard for traffic laws in the Federal Capital Territory to the department’s inability to enforce compliance.

“You cannot enforce, you cannot impound, and even if you issue a ticket, motorists often refuse to pay. What are we supposed to do? This is not a joking matter,” she lamented.

She revealed that motorists currently owe over ₦409 million in unpaid traffic fines, despite alternative enforcement measures like automated ticketing.

“We don’t even impound vehicles excessively. If someone commits an offence, they are already recorded, and the fine is sent to them,” Osho explained.

She stressed that effective traffic management is impossible without strict enforcement, adding, “Have you ever seen anywhere in the world where traffic is well-coordinated without enforcement? It just doesn’t work.”