The Court of Appeal, Imo State division, has ruled that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) acted unlawfully by seizing the vehicle documents of a motorist, Dr Emmanuel Ugochukwu Shebbs, during a routine stop.
The three-member panel of the appellate court awarded N10m in damages against the FRSC for violating Shebbs’ fundamental rights.
In the appeal marked CA/OW/199/2022, the appellate court affirmed the earlier judgment of the High Court of Abia State, which had held that the FRSC has no legal authority to seize a citizen’s driver’s licence, vehicle, or documents without due process.
The appeal was filed by the FRSC, its Corps Marshal, and an unnamed officer identified only by Uniform No. COSS 35, against Dr Shebbs, urging the court to dismiss the decision of the lower court, which had ordered the agency to pay N30m as damages.
In a unanimous decision by Justices Amina Audi Wambai, M. Lawal Abubakar, and Ntong F. Ntong, the court partially upheld the appeal by reducing the original N30m awarded to N10m.
The court, however, maintained that the FRSC’s actions amounted to a clear breach of the respondent’s constitutional rights. The incident occurred during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 when Dr Shebbs was stopped along Bende Road in Umuahia by FRSC officials while on his way to restock household items on a government-approved day.