Nigeria: Court Upholds FRSC's Powers On New Number Plates

Abuja — The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has delivered judgment in favour of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), upholding the agency's powers to set deadline for motorists to change over to the new vehicle number plates and drivers' licences.

A statement on Saturday by the Corps Public Education Officer, Stella Uchegbu, said this verdict was coming on the heels of an appeal filed by the commission against the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, in a case of Emmanuel Ofoegbu vs FRSC on March 26, 2014.

Uchegbu said the Federal High Court had, in the initial judgment, ruled that the FRSC had no statutory powers to fix deadline for motorists to switch over to the new vehicle number plates and driver's licences.

However, in a verdict delivered by Justice Joseph Ike, with Justices Ndukwe Anyanwu and Jamillah Tukur as members, the Court of Appeal upheld the validity of the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012 and held that the validity of old number plate bought by the respondent, Emeka Ofoegbu expired on October 13, 2014, the deadline issued by the FRSC.

See full story: Daily Independent