A Kano Federal High Court has ruled that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) lacks the authority to operate on state and local government roads.
The court, presided over by Justice M. S. Shuaibu, also declared the actions in Kano metropolis unlawful and a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Justice Shuaibu, in the judgment on Thursday in a case filed by Kano-based Human rights lawyer Abba Hikima against FRSC, held that the commission’s officers acted outside their jurisdiction when they stopped, questioned, and delayed motorists on township roads in July 2025.
The court declared that such actions infringed on the constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement guaranteed under Sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
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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.
Similarly, it ordered the commission to issue a public apology in a national newspaper and awarded N800,000 in damages and costs to the applicant.
SolaceBase reports that the dispute began in July 2025 when FRSC operatives in Kano mounted checkpoints on township roads and stopped motorists, including Abba Hikima, demanding driver’s licences and interrogating them without any primary traffic offence.
He approached the Federal High Court to challenge what he described as an unlawful violation of his fundamental rights.
The Lawyer argued that the FRSC’s statutory powers only extend to federal highways, not state or local government roads.
