It was hitherto unthinkable that the unassuming and harmless-looking young scholar, Dr. Shebbs Emmanuel Ugochukwu, a university lecturer, would muster courage and staying power, to take on the fearsome Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) at the law courts. He refused to drink from the cup of tranquilizing gradualism of Nigeria’s docile citizenry, and engaged the agency in an unprecedented test of wills. And deservedly, he won at both the trial and appellate courts.
In attempting to recalibrate its battered image based on the judicial pronouncement, FRSC issued a statement and described Dr. Shebbs as a “gold-digger” and left out the substantive issues adjudicated in the 58-page judgment where the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Owerri, affirmed the ruling of Hon. Justice A.I. Nwabughogu of High Court of Abia State, Aba Judicial Division, with a discretionary cut down on the cost of damages awarded by the lower Court.
In fairness, FRSC has, over the years, enjoyed massive goodwill due to its professionalism and the hazards the members of the Corps go through in ensuring public safety, and in responding swiftly to road emergencies. But unfortunately, one finger that dipped in oil, has soiled others. The abuse of power by the officer on routine patrol on September 9, 2020, is one of the many unreported cases against the institution.
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Putting the vexed issues in perspective, Mr. Shebbs, alongside his friend, Augustine Okechukwu, were accosted by FRSC while driving on a highway in that fateful day. His vehicle was subjected to a thorough search. Shebbs claimed that they were on their way “to deliver goods to a customer in fulfillment of a contract” and that after going through the vehicle’s particulars and discovered that he did not breach any traffic law, he was asked by FRSC officer to “find us something” which he refused, and consequently, his driving licence was seized. On the other hand, FRSC claimed that it found out that the vehicle was driven with worn-out tyres, had no spare tyre, and therefore, issued him a “Notice of offence sheet” to enable him pay the official penalty fees. Thus, by FRSC’s admission, the essence of withholding his driving licence was to make him comply with the penalty fees.
Apparently angered, Mr. Shebbs did not give up his rights. His lawyer wrote to FRSC twice asking for the release of the driving licence or, charge him to court. His prayers were ignored and after about eight months, Shebbs approached a law court of competent jurisdiction and argued that the arbitrariness of FRSC infringed his fundamental rights.
On the 8th July 2021, Shebbs sued a trio of FRSC, the Corps Marshall, and the officer with the number (C05535) under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure (FREP) Rules of 2009, and sought the following reliefs: first, an order of Court mandating FRSC to release his confiscated driving licence; and second, a declaration that searching his car without a warrant, as well as seizing his driving licence amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights, particularly the right to own movable property, privacy, fair hearing and presumption of innocence. Hence, he claimed special damages, general damages, exemplary damages, and the cost of the suit that cumulatively amounted to N83 million.
In its judgment, the High Court found that FRSC infringed Dr. Shebbs fundamental rights and entered judgment in his favour by awarding N30 million as general and exemplary damages, jointly and severally, against the three Respondents. But not satisfied with the judgment, FRSC sent a notice of appeal and filed the brief of argument on June 22, 2022. The counsels of both parties adopted their briefs on April 29, 2025.
The summary of FRSC’s argument is as follows: one, that the action of the Plaintiff (Shebbs) was statute barred by virtue of section 2 of the Public Officers (Protection) Act; two, that the action was not properly instituted under the FREP rules and that the lower Court erred in declaring that the Plaintiff’s rights were infringed; and three, the Respondents argued that the lower Court’s award of N30 million as general and exemplary damages, is excessive, especially since FRSC and the Corps Marshall did not commit the alleged offence.
However, in its unanimous judgment of June 27, 2025, the Appellate Court ruled that the action on “enforcement of fundamental right shall not be affected by any limitation statute whatsoever.” Thus, the first appeal was lacking in merit. Two, on whether the action was properly instituted under FREP rules, the Appellate Court held that the plaintiff’s right was infringed as authorization to withhold the driving licence or vehicle particulars to secure payment of fine, or appearance in Court, is not open-ended. In this case, FRSC ought to have charged the plaintiff to Court for failing to pay instead of keeping his driving licence. The unproven claim that FRSC had filed the matter at a Magistrate’s Court is tantamount to perjury.
Lastly, the Appellate Court reduced the N30 million awarded to the Plaintiff to N10 million by citing previous judicial decisions that stated that the Court should not be a place for gold-digging. Nowhere in the ruling was the Plaintiff referred to as a gold-digger, but FRSC deployed it as a tool of blackmail without considering the heavier words by the same Court which described FRSC’s action as “reprehensible, condemnable, callous, malicious and vindictive” on the Plaintiff. In fact, none of the four grounds of appeal was attacked by the Respondents.
The corollary is that what used to be taken lightly, has as of today, turned out a locus classicus on the subject matter. FRSC and indeed, members of uniformed security and paramilitary organizations should retrain their officers and men to be more professional, law-abiding, and to uphold the rights of others. FRSC’s practice of pursuing suspected traffic offenders is outdated. It must undergo reforms in line with global best practices such as the use of AI-generated CCTV systems for traffic monitoring, speed detection cameras and body cams for accountability. Human interface breeds corruption.
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