Court Bars FRSC From Operating on State and Local Roads in Kano

By Victor Idajili

The Federal High Court in Kano has ruled that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has no legal power to operate on state and local government roads.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice M. S. Shuaibu declared that FRSC officials acted unlawfully when they mounted checkpoints and stopped motorists within Kano metropolis in July 2025.

The suit was filed by Kano-based lawyer, Abba Hikima, Esq., who challenged the commission’s actions as a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.

 
Justice Shuaibu held that FRSC officers had no authority to stop, question, and delay motorists on township roads.  
The court said the action breached the right to personal liberty and freedom of movement guaranteed under Sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.

The judge granted all the main reliefs sought by the applicant, a perpetual injunction restraining FRSC officers from stopping or harassing motorists on Kano State roads without lawful authority.  An order for the commission to publish a public apology in a national newspaper. 
₦800,000 awarded to Hikima as damages and cost of the suit

 
The case began in July last year when FRSC operatives set up checkpoints on roads within Kano city. Hikima said he and other motorists were stopped and asked to present driver’s licences and answer questions, even though they had not committed any traffic offence.

Hikima told the court that the FRSC’s powers, by law, are limited to federal highways and do not extend to state or local government roads.