Traffic offences, FRSC, LASTMA, and the Nigerian motorist

On Nigerian roads, the law often arrives before the offence. Sometimes it arrives in reflective jackets. Sometimes with sirens. Sometimes with tow trucks already revving, as if your vehicle offended someone in a previous life. Every day, ordinary Nigerians leave home to earn an honest living and return home with an unexpected encounter that feels less like law enforcement and more like roadside drama.

Roadblocks appear suddenly. Vehicles are flagged down without explanation. Keys are demanded. Licences are seized. Fines are quoted on the spot with frightening confidence. And in the confusion, many Nigerians surrender money, time, and dignity simply because they do not know where the law truly stands.

But here is the uncomfortable truth many enforcement officers hope you never learn: the road is governed by law, not by uniform.

In Nigeria, no agency you see on the road has unlimited power. The Federal Road Safety Corps exists to ensure safety on federal highways and to enforce traffic regulations related to road safety. LASTMA operates within Lagos State to manage traffic flow and enforce state traffic laws. Their powers are defined, limited, and regulated. They are not roaming courts. They are not mobile treasuries. And they are certainly not licensed to invent offences on the roadside.

One of the most abused practices on Nigerian roads is the so-called spot fine. A motorist is accused of an offence and immediately told to “settle it here” to avoid inconvenience. The law does not support this culture. Traffic offences are meant to be processed through due procedure. Where a fine is prescribed, it is to be paid through official channels, not negotiated beside a gutter or transferred to a private account under the sun.

When money exchanges hands at the roadside without documentation, receipt, or court process, the law has already been violated, and not by the motorist.

Many illegal arrests succeed not because the law allows them, but because motorists are tired, afraid, or uninformed. Every unlawful fine paid strengthens an illegal practice.

Vehicle impoundment is another area of frequent abuse. The law allows seizure of vehicles only under specific conditions and procedures. A vehicle is not to be towed simply because an officer is angry, impatient, or eager to meet a daily target. There must be a lawful basis, proper documentation, and clear notice. Towing a vehicle unlawfully is not enforcement; it is extortion on wheels.

Nowhere is confusion greater than with the Vehicle Inspection Officers, popularly called VIO. Courts in Nigeria have made it clear that VIOs do not have the power to stop vehicles on highways to check papers or conduct roadside enforcement. Their role is inspection-based and administrative, not confrontational road policing. The courts have frowned strongly at their presence on highways flagging down vehicles, declaring such actions unlawful.

Yet today, Lagos motorists see VIOs back on the roads, stopping vehicles, demanding documents, and acting as though the judgments never happened. This is where the problem deepens. When an agency ignores a court judgment, it is not merely disobeying motorists; it is disobeying the Constitution itself.

The way out for motorists is not violence, insults, or panic. The law does not require you to fight officers; it empowers you to stand calmly on your rights. You are entitled to ask which agency is stopping you and under what authority. You are entitled to ask what offence you have committed. You are entitled to refuse any unlawful demand for spot payment. You are entitled to insist that any alleged offence be documented and taken through proper legal channels.

If your documents are complete and you are not committing an offence, no agency has the right to detain you indefinitely. Detention without lawful cause is illegal, whether it happens in a cell or by the roadside. The uniform does not cancel your freedom.

When encounters escalate, it is often because silence is mistaken for guilt. The Nigerian motorist must learn that respect does not mean submission to illegality. Calm assertion of rights is not disrespect. Asking questions is not obstruction. Recording interactions for personal safety is not a crime when done peacefully.

FRSC and LASTMA officers also have rights. They are entitled to cooperation, safety, and lawful compliance. Motorists who drive recklessly, refuse lawful instructions, or endanger others undermine the system. The law is not designed to humiliate officers or motorists; it is meant to protect both.

But protection only works when everyone stays within their lane.

The tragedy on Nigerian roads is not traffic; it is ignorance. Many illegal arrests succeed not because the law allows them, but because motorists are tired, afraid, or uninformed. Every unlawful fine paid strengthens an illegal practice. Every quiet surrender teaches the system that abuse works. We must all insist that authority must bow to legality. Nigerian roads are not lawless spaces. They are governed by statutes, court judgments, and constitutional principles.

Knowing your rights on the road does not make you stubborn.

It saves your money.

It saves your time.

And sometimes, it saves your freedom.

Because on Nigerian roads, the greatest safety device nowadays is not your seatbelt.

It is knowledge of the law.

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