Prominent legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has stated that police officers do not have the authority to impound a vehicle solely based on the driver’s failure to present a license.
During an interview on Joy FM‘s Super Morning Show, Kpebu explained that impoundment is warranted for wrongful parking, not for the absence of a license.
He argued that it would be inappropriate for the police to seize a vehicle for failure to produce a license, stating, “Failure to produce a license doesn’t result in impounding of a vehicle, and we are not about to allow that now. The Police will be breaking the law if they should start.”
Kpebu further clarified that the police do not have the right to take the license to the police station, adding, “If you don’t have a license, they could charge you for driving without a license, and that is a different matter, but if you have it and it’s not with you, you can always go and bring it.”
He advised motorists to exercise politeness when driving without their license, noting that although the law does not grant the police the authority to seize vehicles, an officer may use discretion to allow the driver to present the license later.
“A lot of the time when you’re polite, it helps. Just the fact that you have 24 hours at his discretion, don’t aggressively demand it. As soon as you become aggressive, they also use force. It is not the best, but in all of it, as a driver, if you are polite, it goes a long way to help your issue,” he explained.
During the same program, legal expert Samson Lardy Anyenini emphasized the importance of drivers always carrying their licenses when operating a vehicle.
He stressed that drivers obtain licenses for a purpose and should use them accordingly.
The topic of driver’s licenses gained prominence after the police issued a letter stating that they would impound any vehicle if the driver failed to produce a license.
