The Department of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), popularly known as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), has said it will appeal a Court of Appeal judgment that barred its officials from stopping vehicles, imposing fines, or impounding cars of traffic offenders.
Acting Director of the DRTS, Deborah Osho, disclosed this in an interview with Punch on Thursday, following the appellate court’s decision to uphold an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Thursday, dismissed the VIO’s appeal for lacking merit. The three-member panel, in a unanimous decision, affirmed the October 16, 2024 ruling that prohibited VIO officials from harassing motorists.
Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, who delivered the lead judgment, held that there was no basis to set aside the lower court’s verdict.
In response, Osho described the ruling as detrimental to public order, saying the department would not relent in its efforts to reverse the decision.
She said, “We will certainly appeal. As a correspondent, do you see what is happening in the city right now? Don’t you see how dirty the city is? Just look at Airport Road, they have turned that place practically into a one-way.”
Osho lamented the growing disregard for traffic regulations in the Federal Capital Territory, blaming it on the inability of the DRTS to enforce compliance.
“You cannot enforce, you cannot impound, but if you give them a ticket, they won’t come to pay. What do you want us to do? The thing is not funny,” she said.
She revealed that motorists owe more than ₦409 million in unpaid traffic fines, despite alternative enforcement methods like automated ticketing.
“We don’t even impound like that. What we do is, if you commit an offence, whether you take it or go away, you are already captured, and your bill will be sent to you,” she explained.
The DRTS boss argued that effective traffic management is impossible without strict enforcement, stating, “Have you ever seen anywhere in the world where traffic is well coordinated without enforcement, and you think it will go well?”
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