The Federal High Court sitting in Kano has ruled that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) lacks the authority to operate on state and local government roads.
The court declared the commission’s actions within the Kano metropolis unlawful and a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Delivering judgment on Thursday in a case filed by Kano-based lawyer Abba Hikima, Esq., Hon. Justice M. S. Shuaibu held that FRSC officers acted outside their jurisdiction when they stopped, questioned, and delayed motorists on township roads in July 2025.
The court affirmed that such actions infringed upon the constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement, as guaranteed under Sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
The court granted all the principal reliefs sought by the applicant, including a perpetual injunction restraining FRSC officers from further stopping or harassing motorists on Kano State roads without lawful authority.
Additionally, the judge ordered the commission to issue a public apology in a national newspaper and awarded N800,000 in damages and costs to the applicant.
The dispute originated in July 2025 when FRSC operatives in Kano mounted checkpoints on township roads and stopped motorists, including Hikima, to demand driver’s licences and interrogate them despite the absence of primary traffic offences.
Hikima subsequently approached the Federal High Court to challenge what he described as an unlawful violation of his fundamental rights, arguing that the FRSC’s statutory powers are strictly limited to federal highways and do not extend to state or local government roads.
