The Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law have agreed to set up a joint committee to review the country’s tinted glass permit regulations.
The Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN), disclosed this in Ikeja on Thursday during an interactive session ahead of the association’s annual conference in Akwa Ibom.
Ananaba said the move followed weeks of discussions between both parties after several complaints by motorists over alleged police harassment during enforcement of the tinted permit directive.
He said the association’s engagement with the police was aimed at ensuring that the policy aligns with both public interest and national security needs.
“Following our discussions with senior police officers, we agreed that enforcement of the tinted permit should be suspended while a joint review committee is constituted,” Ananaba said.
According to him, the committee will include representatives from NBA-SPIDEL and the Nigeria Police. It will examine the legal and security aspects of the policy and recommend new ways to regulate it.
He added that the NBA-SPIDEL had also filed a suit against the police over alleged discrimination in the enforcement process, saying such legal steps were taken to uphold the rule of law.
“SPIDEL is not a body of activists. Our focus is public interest and development,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Mrs Adaobi Egboka, Director of the Africa Initiative at the Vance Centre, New York City Bar, announced that the Centre for International Justice had proposed a partnership with NBA-SPIDEL to promote access to justice and pro bono legal services across Africa.
Egboka said the collaboration would help establish a structured pro bono framework in Nigeria, including a database of participating law firms and standards for measuring legal aid contributions.
She also proposed a “Pro Bono Declaration for Africa” to encourage law firms to dedicate specific hours annually to free legal services for the underprivileged.
