The Department of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), also referred to as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), has announced that it will appeal a Court of Appeal ruling that prohibited its employees from stopping automobiles, enforcing penalties, or seizing vehicles belonging to traffic offenders.
Deborah Osho, the acting director of the DRTS, revealed this in an interview with Punch on Thursday after the appellate court upheld a Federal High Court verdict.
The VIO’s appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Thursday due to its lack of merit. The October 16, 2024 order that forbade VIO staff from harassing drivers was upheld by the three-member tribunal in a unanimous decision.
The lead judge, Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, ruled that the lower court’s decision could not be overturned.
Osho responded by characterizing the verdict as harmful to public order and stating that the department will not give up on trying to overturn the finding.
“We will definitely appeal,” she declared. As a correspondent, are you aware of the current state of affairs in the city? Can’t you see how filthy the city is? Take a look at Airport Road; it is now essentially a one-way street.
Osho bemoaned the Federal Capital Territory’s increasing disdain for traffic laws and attributed it to the DRTS’s incapacity to police adherence.
“You can’t impound or enforce, but if you give them a ticket, they won’t come to pay. What are you asking us to do? “It’s not funny,” she remarked.
Despite alternative enforcement strategies including computerized ticketing, she disclosed that drivers owing over ₦409 million in unpaid traffic fines.
“That’s not even how we impound. “If you commit an offense, you are already captured and your bill will be sent to you regardless of whether you accept it or not,” she clarified.
“Have you ever seen anywhere in the world where traffic is well coordinated without enforcement, and you think it will go well?” asked the head of DRTS, arguing that good traffic management is impossible without severe enforcement.
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