{"id":7155,"date":"2025-07-28T15:04:42","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T15:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panoramanews.com.ng\/?p=7155"},"modified":"2025-07-28T15:04:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T15:04:42","slug":"you-lack-powers-to-seize-drivers-licence-appeal-court-tells-frsc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panoramanews.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/07\/28\/you-lack-powers-to-seize-drivers-licence-appeal-court-tells-frsc\/","title":{"rendered":"You lack powers to seize driver’s licence – Appeal Court tells FRSC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Publisher
\nKindly share:<\/p>\n

The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, does not have any legal authority to seize drivers\u2019 licences, vehicles, or related documents without lawful justification.<\/p>\n

This was the decision of the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State, in Appeal No: CA\/OW\/199\/2022, filed by the FRSC, the Corps Marshal, and an officer identified by Uniform No. COSS 35 (as 1st to 3rd Appellants), against Dr. Emmanuel Ugochukwu Shebbs (Respondent).<\/p>\n

The High Court of Abia State had earlier ruled that such seizures violated the fundamental human rights.<\/p>\n

The Court in a unanimous by Justices Amina Audi Wambai, M. Lawal Abubakar, and Ntong F. Ntong held that the FRSC was liable for rights violation.<\/p>\n

However, it slashed the damages awarded to the respondent from N30 million to N10 million, covering general and exemplary damages.<\/p>\n

The FRSC officers had stopped Shebbs along Bende Road in Umuahia, an incident in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. <\/p>\n

According to the plaintiff, the officers demanded a bribe even after inspecting his car and finding no fault.<\/p>\n

His refusal to oblige them led to a second inspection, and claimed that his tyre was worn out. Subsequently, they seized his driver\u2019s licence and issued a N3,000 booking.<\/p>\n

However, Shebbs approached the High Court in Abia to seek redress, contending that seizure his driver’s licence was illegal and violated his fundamental rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Publisher Kindly share: The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, does not have any legal authority to seize drivers\u2019 licences,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[702],"class_list":["post-7155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-federal-road-safety-commission"],"yoast_head":"\nYou lack powers to seize driver's licence - Appeal Court tells FRSC - Panorama News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/panoramanews.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/07\/28\/you-lack-powers-to-seize-drivers-licence-appeal-court-tells-frsc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"You lack powers to seize driver's licence - 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