Earthrealm,
I printed this a couple of years back from their site. will scan and upload for you later today.

I show only my Driver's licenece,Insurance, Vehicle license and proof of ownership (though ploce publication said it's not required) and of cousre the tinted permit. On two or three occasions when I was asked for some other papers, I presented their Publication to them.

@waoosa,
please kindly help me paste their Publication in this mail address (rashwash@yahoo.com)
thanks a billion!

For those in Naija this Xmas with their SUV or Minivan let us see if you have any story that beats this

http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2008/dec/150.html

Teni Atalabi Osundeko, PhD Monday, December 15, 2008

mamatofunmi@yahoo.com

 
ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE
TO YOUR FRIENDS

MY TINTED ODYSSEY WITH OKIRO'S EMPTY UNIFORMS
ewsflash: The Nigerian Inspector General of Police is now in the business of personally hunting down and apprehending criminal elements within the police force at illegal checkpoints on our highways. Mr Okiro's baby steps may lead to some relief for Nigeria's beleaguered motorists. For too long, Nigerians going about their lawful business have endured extortion and humiliation from the police. I carry emotional scars from my last encounter with the empty uniforms pretending to be Nigeria's law enforcement officers.



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My story finds me at the police headquarters in Akure. "This car heavy well well" commented the police officer as he made exaggerated circles around the car. His moves reminded me of a vulture circling carrion. "As you dey come, I don see say na heavy moto you get" he continued effusively. He did not attempt to hide his delight. I swallowed hard in an attempt to cover up my disgust. In a mild voice, I made enquiries as to what documents the police could provide so that I could drive my car around in peace. The office virtually licked his lips. For a moment, I thought I saw him drooling. He ran his own 'standardized' test to determine how dark the tinted car windows were. This would determine how much he would extort from me. "Siddon for inside make I see" he said to my driver. He stepped back and gauged the visibility of the driver's silhouette. "Ahh, this tint heavy, madam" crooned the policeman. Eventually he demanded some thousands of naira in exchange for a typed note that stated that the tint on my windows were factory made. I left that police station feeling as if I needed a shower.


How did I end up shelling out money to an empty Nigerian uniform? My journey started thousands of miles away in my adopted country. I planned to vacation in Nigeria in the summer of 2007 and so I shipped out a mini van to ease my transportation problems. It drove well and was roomy enough to transport my children and their many cousins. I felt quite pleased that I had made the right decision. I did not realize that I was living in a fool's paradise until I undertook a journey from Lagos to Akure. During this trip from hell, I encountered nineteen police checkpoints between Ijebu Ode and Akure. I was stopped at almost every check point, harassed, denied of freedom of movement, accused of breaking a Nigerian law and actually labeled a criminal by the police.


What was my crime? I was driving a car with lightly tinted windows! Only criminals drove around with tinted windows to hide their despicable intentions, the police told me. My explanations that tinted windows were part of the standard features that came with minivans fell on deaf ears. My van was impounded and would only be released if I went to Abuja and obtained a N25,000 permit from the Inspector General of Police. I was instantly transformed from law abiding citizen, a model citizen both at home and abroad who had never been issued a speeding ticket, to a common criminal, all because of my tinted windows and because the empty uniforms declared it so.


At one of the checkpoints, the Nigerian police delayed me for 40minutes. As I sat in the baking sun with my sleeping daughter on my lap, I was able to observe their shenanigans at close quarters. The antics of the gun-totting empty uniforms operating at the checkpoints were comical and pathetic. A policeman would brandish his gun and bark out an order to the motorist to stop. Another clown located a few yards away, would cork his gun menacingly as a back up. Next, they appraised the car and its occupants. If the car was posh and the owner looked like a 'big man' the police fawned over them. They slavishly massaged the egos of these wealthy Nigerians who drove flashy cars. "Oga, your boys are here! Anything for the weekend, sir" they chorused like starving refugees. The moneyed ones usually tossed them some money and sped off on their merry way. Their beggarly pleadings instantly changed to disdain and contempt when they determined that the occupants of were poor or just regular folks. Through the liberal use of intimidation, threats, humiliation and verbal assaults, these policemen extorted money from their fellow citizens.


The modus operandi was the same at each stop. After pulling us over, aggressively demanding registration, insurance and license from my driver, the officer barely glance at the documents before turning his attention to the tinted windows. Next came the accusation of committing a crime. My plea of ignorance of this particular law was always ignored. The predictable demand for money was followed with a sauntering off with my car papers in his pocket if I did not pay up quickly. Initially, I struggled with the inevitable, but eventually broke and gave the driver some money to settle the demands for bribes from the men in the black uniform of the Nigerian police. Prior to this incident, I had never given in to the corrupt monetary demands of empty uniforms and always faced the consequences, which included delays and deprivation.


What was different about today? I had my school age daughter with me. This child is so patriotic and proud of her country, the USA, that she will not tolerate any negative comments about it. She picks trash from the streets when she goes for walks and brings them home for disposal. She sings the anthem and waves the flag proudly. She is just gung ho about all things American. Similarly, she is very proud of Nigeria and is always puzzled when she hears negative things about her parents' county of origin. Here I was, in the middle of nowhere, far away from everyone I know, and being held against my will by the Nigerian Police. I did not want my child to wake up and witness my humiliation. I also did not want to put her at risk by engaging in an open-ended standoff with unaccountable, anonymous rogues who could dispatch me to the great beyond in a heartbeat. I did not have many options open to me.


By about the 10th stop, I was becoming flustered and teary as we went through the harrowing experience of being stopped every few miles down the road by another set of empty uniforms. They did not have a standard fee and demands ranged from a few hundred naira to as high as N20,000. Unfortunately, my daughter woke up, witnessed some of the exchanges and started her barrage of questions "Why are the police so mean? Why did they stop us? Why did you give them money? Are you all right? Why are you so sad? By the time we got to Akure, I physically and emotionally drained. I had started out from Lekki at 7.36am and got to my house in Akure at 2pm, almost 6 and a half hours later.


This ordeal led me to the police headquarters in Akure bright and early the next morning in the quest for the permit to drive my car around in peace. As I collected the so-called permit from the officer, I looked into his eyes and saw sheer emptiness. No feeling, no empathy, no sense of duty, just a vacuous, vicious emptiness that sucked the life out of fellow compatriots, the very ones he is paid to serve and protect. Looking back now, it seems that every policeman at those contemptible checkpoints sported the same dead emotionless eyes.


I may be asking for too much, but Nigerian embassies abroad can help by providing useful information that relate to tinted car windows on their websites. Nigerians who are robbed at checkpoints by the police need recourse. There should be a way to report such crimes with a view to getting justice. The IG of police should get some of the best brains in Nigeria to come up with ways to rid our highways of these clowns. Simply announcing on the radio that roadblocks are abolished has not worked in the past. New methods need to be applied to persistent problems. Criminal empty uniforms on Nigeria's roads are a man made problem and can respond to man made solutions.


PostScript

The Akure permit did not work, as the empty uniforms in Lagos declared it fake and of no effect.

naija my naija

I feel sorry for that lady.

Jeeze! Another reason why I could not live in Nigeria.
Deal with such situations on a daily basis!

Hell no!

sultan,i can understand your annoyance.but that is a matter to be discussed another day.one of this days i hope someone will be brave enough to tell the truth about what an average policeman is going through every day of his life while you sit in the comfort of your home, enjoying.well, as for the permit. IT - IS  -FREE. the problem is that we like to cut corners.two of my friend has gotten this permits.they applied and i forwarded it to the appropriate quarters on their behalf.they were issued,within two months. The IGP has gone beyond the level of collecting 25000 to sign permit.
one,the IGP is the sole authority to issue this permit,he is a busy man .
two, security checks will also have to be conducted to ensure that the applicant is not a rogue.
you see.but nigerians want it fast and end up paying to people who end up giving them forged permit.you can hear someone say he got it in one week.if something happens and that person tender his permit,he will be shocked to find out that the permit is not carrying the authentic seal of the IGP.
SO you can see the problem in nigeria .we don't like following due process,hence when you offer an impoverish man 25000 to make it express and he knows he cannot,then he gives you forged one as he needs the money badly.
who is fooling who?
NB; The akure permit will not work of course.i told you in a paragraph above that the only issuing authority is the IGP
PLS STOP CUTTING CORNERS.

The point is that Nigerian is still hanging to a police state used by colonial rulers. Tints/privacy glass is standard on all trucks and vans to reduce UV damage, and visibility from factory tint is within legal limits of countries these vehicles are made in.If they are going to give permits, it should be done at registration.See the vehicle and owner its good to go.Having a high school educated policeman threaten the best of the society with guns using tints as an excuse is no way to grow.
There is no difference from banning V8 vehicles because the 1.7l I4 the police use can't catch up so those using V8s are probably criminal elements.

Can Nigerian law enforcements trust Nigerians who can't trust politicians, but failure always starts from the top.

yes all. got mine for 17k through a police friend. if you need it in less than a week he can help. his name is pogul clarke 08083002080

Ladoma, you seem to have missed the ladies' point in telling her ordeal at the hands of corrupt policemen. Tinted windows do not prevent police from apprehending criminals. The police still have the right to stop and search motorists for legitimate reasons whether windows are tinted or not.
The sole purpose of this law is to enable the police extort to money from motorists and has nothing to with security.
Do you think that your busy IG of police actually sits in his office to sign tinted window permits? They are mechanically signed and issued by a secretary in his office at Abuja. How does the IG measure the thickness of my tinted car from his office in Abuja while my car is in Lagos?
The IG should mandate all state vehicle registration offices to inspect and collect tint fees where necessary at the point of initial registration. These funds should be kept by the states where cars are registered to be applied to areas such as road maintainance.
We should stop making excuses for a corrupt and ineffective police force.

I guarantee you that I can get you the Permit within one week from Abuja for a token sum of 20k. If you are intersted get in touch with me on styusuph@yahoo.com.
Thanks.

ladoma:

sultan,i can understand your annoyance.but that is a matter to be discussed another day.one of this days i hope someone will be brave enough to tell the truth about what an average policeman is going through every day of his life while you sit in the comfort of your home, enjoying.well, as for the permit. IT - IS  -FREE. the problem is that we like to cut corners.two of my friend has gotten this permits.they applied and i forwarded it to the appropriate quarters on their behalf.they were issued,within two months. The IGP has gone beyond the level of collecting 25000 to sign permit.
one,the IGP is the sole authority to issue this permit,he is a busy man .
two, security checks will also have to be conducted to ensure that the applicant is not a rogue.
you see.but nigerians want it fast and end up paying to people who end up giving them forged permit.you can hear someone say he got it in one week.if something happens and that person tender his permit,he will be shocked to find out that the permit is not carrying the authentic seal of the IGP.
SO you can see the problem in nigeria .we don't like following due process,hence when you offer an impoverish man 25000 to make it express and he knows he cannot,then he gives you forged one as he needs the money badly.
who is fooling who?
NB; The akure permit will not work of course.i told you in a paragraph above that the only issuing authority is the IGP
PLS STOP CUTTING CORNERS.

and what stories do I tell your colleagues while waiting 2 whole months for the IG to do the "security checks", it is obvious that this whole tinted thing is a closed loop ploy to extort money. You get the permit you are damned, you dont you are damned. God will deliver us in this country.

The issue is that our law enforcement agencies are out to extort innocent Nigerians. My advice is that you get all your papers complete and valid. No law enforcement agent will harass you. If it comes to the worst, tell whoever that harasses to take you to his office. I am sure you meet a learned senior officer. You will only be delayed, but you will win at the end of the day.
Besides, most of them do not know what to check; so what I do for them is to give those documents like a course handout. They read until they can read no more. So get your documents complete, original and valid.
Take care.

The question is how do you know you have a fake or orginial tinted permit, it is not like one have seen the IG's signature before

Got stopped by V.I.O today and after checking all my papers.the officer asked for my MOT/road worthiness certificate.Just wondering if anyone has had such problem.

babs its normal,every car that was correctly registered should have it,be careful tho i see a lot of fake MOT/road worthiness certificate,the original has a seal.

Is it true that the tinted glasses permit has now been abolished? please feedback any one with knowlege!

The Federal Government in withdrawing the privilege on Thursday also gave the affected persons a deadline of February 28 to remove the tints from their vehicles or face the embarrassment of having them removed by policemen now empowered to do so.

Minister of Police Affairs, Humphrey Abbah, who announced this at an emergency news briefing in Abuja, said current security situation in the country warranted the banning of tinted glass in vehicles.

The only exemptions to the rule, Abbah said, are the President, Vice President, Governors, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Leader of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the House.
Relevant Links


Vehicles bought with tinted glass, the minister, said are also exempted from the rule because the tints made on the glass are made by the manufacturers in such a way that the occupants of the vehicle can be seen from outside unlike the artificially tinted ones, that makes the vehicle dark as charcoal.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201102250241.html

Lolzzzz

cosby:

tints made on the glass are made by the manufacturers in such a way that the occupants of the vehicle can be seen from outside unlike the artificially tinted ones, that makes the vehicle dark as charcoal.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201102250241.html

rubbish talk.