Every state and city in Nigeria have men in orange uniform who are called Vehicle Inspection Officers. They are often mistaken to be the men of the Road Safety Corp but they are distinct from the road safety officers and they carry out distinct although overlapping duties with the men of the Road Safety Corps.
Their duties according to their enabling acts are highlighted to include:
- Training and testing of applicants for Driver’s license
- Testing and training of applicants for Rider’s card
- Organizing seminars and public lectures.
- Carrying out inspection of vehicles involved in accidents
- Certification of driving schools
- Co-operating with other agencies to enforce traffic rules and regulations
- Providing accessible emergency services
- Co-operating with relevant agencies engaged in road safety activities or in the prevention
of accidents on the highways
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- Preparing and keeping statutory registers and a database of all certificates issued and revoked.
It is the position of the court that the functions and duties of the Vehicle Inspection Officers as clearly spelt out didn’t give them the power to carry out the duty of the judiciary like imposing punishments and impounding of vehicles of alleged traffic offenders.
They have been held to be acting above their power in many instances by the court, the latest of which is the 2021 fundamental rights enforcement suit no. HU/FHR/171/2021 filed by Edidiong Akpanuwa, Esq., the high court of Akwa Ibom state declared that the act of the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) conducting stop and search and impounding peoples’ vehicle for alleged break of traffic rules is illegal and unconstitutional. The court in their resounding wisdom went ahead to state that Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) acting on the instructions of the state government cannot in accordance with s.36 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (1999) and in every struct sense of it assume the duties of the judiciary to impose penalties and impound vehicles of motors users who they have alleged to have committed traffic offense.
They have the power to prosecute but they will be acting ultra vires when they impose penalties to alleged traffic offenders.
By the reason of this recent case, no Vehicle Inspection Officer has the power to impound any user’s car for any reason whatsoever and will be acting in illegality when they impose punishment to anybody for alleged breach of traffic offense.
Thank you for this wonderful enlightenment.
It’s a pleasure.
I was made to pay a fine of 10,000 by men of the vio at imo state because my first aid kit was removed by my colleague who forgot to return it after use. All my pleas fell on deaf ears. Worst being that my vehicle is very much complete whereas theirs has no right to be on the road as it contradicts virtually all they stand for ranging from their head lights to their wheel nuts being incomplete. Those guys are worse than any other agency I’ve come across since I started driving
Imo State VIO are armed robbers
What can I do on this molestation by men of Vio? ? I was forced to handover my commercial vehicular keys for Testing on their Mainframe computer and issuing me with the report I eventually saw them pushing the vehicle. They went under the vehicle and tampered with the gear system. They begged me to call my mechanic but I refused. I asked to fix my vehicle or else ….
These people are something else, they made me pay 10, with the claim that my vehicle plate number is not visible..
I had a terrible experience with these same guys called VIO. Of which all vehicle particulars completed, car in good condition and all safety kits available. All to tell me that I didn’t park on time that was the offense. They stopped all cars along the federal where potholes are as deep as 6ft and road is very terrible to drive on. They expected me to park where they stopped me so that vehicle can be damaged or probably cause hold-ups on the highway Abeokuta-Ibadan road. Just yesterday morning, they caused an accident where trailer hit a FUNAAB lecturer’s car and ran away. The car was terribly damaged.
I was given a fine of 25,000 for disobeying them. Can you imagine that. This fine must be paid in cash where no receipt will be issued. Thieves in white and black uniforms. None of the money collected that day was paid into any government account. If anyone ask for bank account of where to pay it will be their personal account or probably ask such person to pay in cash. Around their office are POS kiosks where you can collect cash and pay by hand to them.
Government should revisit the operation of these thieves on the road robbing drivers of their hard earned money.
Road safety are now collecting cash as booking
This morning I was stopped by these men white and black claiming I drove one way, that’s my offence. With the enlightenment I got from this post, I tried to pull their strings further. Surprisingly the man in charge gave directive that I should be fine 3000k. And demanded my motorcycle key and particulars. This I resisted. I believe that these people don’t really know their limit on carrying out their functions. I hurt me because there has never been any kind of public enlightenment campaign as to the enforcement of the one-way driving or better still route violation offence in Akwanga Nasarawa state. I felt embarrassed by their approach and claims.
I still have my vehicle impounded by the agbowa ikosi Vio officer for the past 3months.
I have seek for legal redress and compensation
The VIO in Imo State are worse than armed robbers and bandits. They should be treated as such by whoever cares.