Tinted Glass: Offenders May Bag Six Months Jail

The Senate yesterday passed a Bill for an Act to amend the Motor Vehicle Prohibition of Tinted Glass Act 2011.
The Bill aims at checking indiscriminate use of tinted glass vehicles by motorists.
The bill proposes N50, 000 fine or six month imprisonment for anyone driving a tinted glass vehicle without due approval from appropriate authority.
The Senate adopted the report of its Joint Committee on Police Affairs and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters on the Bill.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Paulinus Nwagu, said the Bill “seeks essentially to amend the extant law in order to check indiscriminate use of tinted glass vehicles which beat security checks and carry out nefarious activities.”
Nwagu noted that the bill was sponsored following the spate of reactions from Nigerians on the recent announcement by the Nigerian Police of its intention to arrest and prosecute those driving cars with tinted glass.
He said the development became necessary to bring to the fore the fact that the police was not trying to introduce a new law but was merely trying to enforce an already existing regulations 66 (2) of the National Traffic Regulations of 1997 and the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act.
Nwagu said, “The bill also seeks to address the persisting injustice meted out to Nigerians through embarrassment and harassment, which constitutes a serious affront to the fundamental rights of Nigerians against discrimination as enshrined under section 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
He noted that presentations by stakeholders during a public hearing in support of the bill, captured the need to address current upsurge in terrorism and other crimes like kidnapping and child trafficking.
Also yesterday, a bill which seeks to establish Nigerian Financial Intelligence Centre to combat money laundering and terrorist activities scaled second reading in the Senate.
The Executive bill was consolidated with another bill on the same issue sponsored by Senator Victor Lar, (Plateau South), Lar, who is also Chairman, Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes strongly supported the passage of the bill.
He noted that as the Senate debates the bill, “Nigeria is on the Financial Action Task Force targeted list, a list of countries that are considered “unsafe or high-risk jurisdiction” due to certain observed institutional and operational deficiencies.