Appeal Court Ban: VIO Adjusts Operations on Vehicle Impoundment

The Department of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), sometimes referred to as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), has announced that it will appeal a Court of Appeal ruling that prohibited its officers from stopping cars, enforcing penalties, or seizing vehicles belonging to traffic violators.

Deborah Osho, the DRTS’s acting director, revealed this in an interview with Punch on Thursday after the appeal court upheld a Federal High Court verdict.

The VIO’s appeal was denied by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Thursday due to its lack of substance. In a unanimous finding, the three-member tribunal upheld the October 16, 2024 decision that forbade VIO officers from harassing drivers.

The lead judge, Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, determined that the lower court’s decision could not be overturned.

Osho responded by characterizing the decision as harmful to public order and stating that the department would not give up on trying to overturn it.

“We will definitely appeal,” she stated. As a correspondent, are you aware of the current events in the city? Do you not notice how filthy the city is? Take a peek at Airport Road, which is now essentially a one-way street.

Osho bemoaned the Federal Capital Territory’s increasing disdain for traffic laws, attributing it to the DRTS’s incapacity to police adherence.

“If you give them a ticket, they won’t come to pay, but you can’t enforce or impound.” What would you like us to do? “It’s not humorous,” she remarked.

Despite alternative enforcement tactics including computerized ticketing, she disclosed that drivers owing over ₦409 million in unpaid traffic fines.

We don’t even impound in that manner. She said, “If you commit an offense, you are already captured and your bill will be sent to you regardless of whether you accept it or not.”

“Have you ever seen anywhere in the world where traffic is well coordinated without enforcement, and you think it will go well?” said the head of DRTS, arguing that good traffic management is impossible without severe enforcement.