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The federal high court in Kano has barred the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) from operating on state and local government roads.
According to Daily Trust, the court also declared the corps’ operations on township roads within Kano metropolis unlawful, holding that they violated the fundamental rights of citizens.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, M.S. Shuaibu, the presiding judge, ruled in favour of Abba Hikima, a Kano-based lawyer who sued the FRSC over its activities in July 2025.
The judge held that FRSC officers acted outside their statutory powers by stopping, questioning and delaying motorists on township roads.
He added that the actions breached the constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement guaranteed under sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
The judge granted all the reliefs sought by Hikima, including a perpetual injunction restraining FRSC personnel from stopping or harassing motorists on Kano state roads without lawful authority.
He also ordered the corps to publish a public apology in a national newspaper and awarded the applicant N800,000 in damages and costs.
The suit stemmed from an incident in July 2025 when FRSC operatives mounted checkpoints on township roads in Kano and stopped motorists, including Hikima, demanding driver’s licences and questioning them despite the absence of any primary traffic offence.
Hikima subsequently approached the federal high court, noting that the corps had unlawfully violated his fundamental rights.
He said that the FRSC’s statutory mandate covers only federal highways and does not extend to state or local government roads
