Tinted Glass Permit: FCT Minister Overrules IGP — A Recipe for Tyranny By Bolaji Akinyemi
We arrived at the Federal Capital Territory on July 12, 2025, exactly one month before the official deadline announced by the Nigeria Police Force for compliance with the new Tinted Glass Permit regulations. In a Range Rover being driven by Olabode Olarinde. The car was impounded in Abuja. Not for flouting the law—but for obeying it.
The officers who carried out this illegality were not rogue elements. They were part of a combined security team under the bridge at Area One, acting not on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, whose office is responsible for this regulation, but on the whims of a minister—the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike – CON, GSSRS.
Let that sink in.
A public communication from the Office of the Inspector General of Police—an institution empowered by the Constitution to regulate internal security—clearly announced that the deadline for tinted glass compliance had been extended to August 12, 2025. The same office provided hotlines to report extortion, encouraged digital application through a structured portal, and promised transparent, citizen-focused policing.
Yet, on the streets of Nigeria’s capital city, the reality tells a different story.
When I demanded accountability from the officers enforcing the impoundment, I was passed from vehicle to vehicle like a courier package. Finally, a courteous officer disclosed the truth: “This is not the IGP’s directive. It is an FCT ministerial order.”
In essence, a minister, not vested with the constitutional mandate for policing or regulatory enforcement, has overruled the topmost officer of the Nigeria Police Force. The same minister whose controversial exemption from the Single Treasury Account (TSA) already raised eyebrows. Now, he’s making decrees on operational security without alignment with national policy. How bad can bad governance get?
Whose Rule of Law?
This is not about tinted glasses anymore. It is about the dismantling of order and the weaponization of governance. When a minister can override the IGP, what happens to the chain of command? When public directives are treated as mere suggestions, what happens to public trust?
If the citizens of the Federal Capital Territory can no longer trust the official communication from the Inspector General of Police, who should they listen to? The next overzealous task force?
This is not security. This is executive lawlessness.
Where’s the Coordination?
One must ask: why didn’t the FCT Minister coordinate with the IGP, whose institution is responsible for the enforcement of this policy? Why should citizens bear the brunt of inter-agency arrogance and ego-driven turf wars? If this is not about political intimidation or a subtle attempt to muzzle movement and opposition voices within the FCT, then it must be rank incompetence.
This is a federal republic, not a jungle of overlords.
Populace Already Pushed to the Wall
Nigerians are already under tremendous socio-economic pressure. From subsidy removal to inflation, joblessness to insecurity, life has become a daily act of survival. Must we now be harassed for driving with tinted factory-fitted windows—even when the deadline hasn’t expired?
Who benefits from this cruelty?
Wike may be the ‘spoilt child’ of this administration, granted unchecked access to funds and freedom, but he cannot be permitted to rule the FCT like a personal estate. Governance must remain lawful, coordinated, and citizen-sensitive.
A Call to Correct This Madness
Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the people did not vote for confusion. You cannot preach “Renewed Hope” and permit rogue enforcement that feeds despair. If President Tinubu remains silent while ministers overrule service chiefs, the center cannot and will not hold.
We call on:
The IGP to reassert his authority and issue a public clarification.
The National Assembly to investigate this ministerial overreach.
The FCT Minister to cease and desist from undermining national security directives.
Civil society and legal advocacy groups to take this up in defense of constitutional order.
Let Deeds Speak, Not Oppression
True leadership is known by its commitment to justice, not by how many citizens it can frustrate under a bridge. Governance is not a show of force—it is a test of fairness.
Let the date of August 12, 2025 stand. Let the Nigeria Police lead this initiative as originally mandated. And let Abuja be governed—not by the mood swings of a minister—but by the rule of law.
Until then, every impounded car is a symbol of state bullying, not security. And every harassed citizen is a victim of official impunity, not lawful order.
Dr Akinyemi is Lagos based pastor and human rights activist
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