Tunji Disu Backs Nationwide Ban on Tinted Vehicles, Cites Rising Security Threat

Tunji Disu Backs Nationwide Ban on Tinted Vehicles, Cites Rising Security Threat

Tunji Disu has said he would prohibit the use of tinted vehicles across Nigeria if he had the authority to do so, arguing that such vehicles have increasingly become tools for kidnappers, armed robbers and operators of “one-chance” criminal syndicates.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ engagement on the enforcement of tinted glass permits, Disu said the country's worsening security situation requires stricter regulation of tinted vehicles.

“If I have my way, there would be no vehicle that would be tinted in the country. And we are moving towards it,” he said.

According to him, security agencies have repeatedly encountered heavily tinted vehicles during criminal investigations, making them a significant security concern.

Disu recalled that while serving as Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), investigations into one-chance operations revealed that many of the vehicles used by the criminal gangs were fitted with heavily tinted windows.

He said that of the 27 vehicles recovered from the syndicates, a large number were fully tinted, underscoring what he described as the strong correlation between illegal tinted vehicles and violent crime.

The police chief also criticised the growing trend of using excessively dark tints on windscreens and rear windows, warning that such modifications endanger law enforcement officers by preventing them from identifying occupants during stop-and-search operations.

He stressed that Nigerian law permits tinted glass only under specific security or medical exemptions, adding that even in such cases, the tint should not completely obstruct visibility.

Disu disclosed that the police would intensify enforcement against illegally tinted vehicles nationwide as part of efforts to combat rising insecurity.

Earlier, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, expressed support for the regulation of tinted glass permits but cautioned against turning the process into a revenue-generating venture.

Osigwe questioned the rationale for periodic renewal of the permits, arguing that once a vehicle owner's details are captured in a central database, repeated renewals become unnecessary.

He also opposed the outsourcing of the permit process to private firms collecting fees on behalf of the police.

While endorsing enforcement against vehicles with excessively dark tints that conceal occupants from security personnel, the NBA president maintained that the permit regime should prioritise security rather than revenue generation.

The NBA had in December criticised the Nigeria Police Force over the reactivation of the previously suspended tinted glass permit policy after the force announced that enforcement would resume on January 2, 2026, citing a rise in vehicle-related crimes across the country.