By Uzair Adam
The Federal High Court in Kano has ruled that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has no legal authority to carry out enforcement operations on roads under the control of the Kano State Government or its local government councils.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice M. S. Shuaibu held that the commission acted beyond its statutory powers when its personnel stopped, questioned and delayed motorists on township roads in Kano in July 2025.
The suit was instituted by Kano-based lawyer, Abba Hikima, who challenged the legality of the commission’s operations on state roads, arguing that FRSC officials violated his fundamental rights by demanding his driver’s licence and interrogating him despite the absence of any traffic offence.
The court agreed with the applicant, ruling that the actions of the FRSC officers violated the rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Shuaibu granted all the major reliefs sought by Hikima, including a perpetual injunction restraining FRSC personnel from stopping, harassing or interfering with motorists on Kano State roads without lawful authority.
The court also ordered the commission to publish a public apology in a national newspaper and awarded the applicant N800,000 as damages and litigation costs.
The dispute arose in July 2025 after FRSC operatives mounted checkpoints on township roads within Kano metropolis, where they stopped motorists to demand driver’s licences and question them even when no primary traffic offence had been committed.
Hikima maintained that the FRSC’s powers are limited to federal highways and do not extend to roads under state or local jurisdiction, a position the court upheld in its judgment.