The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has announced a significant crackdown on vehicles with tinted windows and covered number plates, citing the need to curb the increasing wave of criminal activities, including kidnappings, in the region.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening via X.com, the command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, issued a stern warning to vehicle owners in the FCT. She stated that all vehicles with tinted glasses must remove the tint or face the possibility of having their cars impounded.
“For now, the use of tinted glasses on vehicles is prohibited,” Adeh said. “If your vehicle has tinted glasses, kindly remove them to avoid having your vehicle impounded by the police. This is one of the measures implemented to combat the rising incidents of ‘one chance’ and other criminal activities in the FCT.”
The FCT Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, further emphasized the importance of this directive during a parade of suspects on Tuesday. In a video accompanying the statement, Disu explained that many victims of kidnapping had pointed to tinted windows as a key factor that hindered their ability to be seen in distress. He noted that criminals often exploited vehicles with covered or missing number plates to avoid detection during their operations.
“We are clamping down on all commercial vehicles and everybody tinting their vehicles. We need to see people in their vehicles; tinted glass is contributing to a lot of lawlessness,” Disu said. He also referenced testimonies from kidnapping victims, many of whom had been rescued, stating that tinted windows obstructed visibility, making it difficult for bystanders to recognize their distress.
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“A lot of the kidnapped victims that we have rescued have given us their word that the tinted glass made it impossible for people to know that they were in distress,” he added. “A lot of them at the same time covered their number plates, or some deliberately did not put number plates on their vehicle.”
The Commissioner further issued a stern warning to FCT residents, stressing that the enforcement of the ban on tinted windows, covered number plates, and unregistered vehicles would be rigorous and uncompromising.
“This is to warn residents of the FCT that henceforth the police will enforce all laws on tinted glasses. Nobody has the right to tint their vehicles. We will enforce the law on covering number plates; nobody has the right to cover their number plates,” Disu said.
“We will enforce laws on people not fixing registration numbers on their vehicles, because all these are forms of criminality that people take advantage of to rob innocent citizens of the FCT.”
The directive is part of ongoing efforts by the FCT Police to curb rising crimes and improve safety for residents, with authorities making it clear that any violations of the law regarding vehicle modifications would be met with strict penalties.
