Motorists in Nigeria who resprayed their vehicles without approval are liable to spend six months in jail, says Aliyu Giwa, Assistant Force Public Relations Officer.

Mr Giwa disclosed this in a thread of tweets on Wednesday, saying vehicle owners must follow due process before respraying their vehicles or risk jail term.

Citing Part 2, Section 13 of the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012, Mr Giwa said, “Where the colour of a vehicle is to be changed, the owner shall apply for approval from the Authority in Form MVA (Motor Vehicle Administration) 6 of Schedule 1 to these regulations and unless such an application is approved, the owner of the vehicle shall be restrained from changing the colour of the vehicle.”

Mr Giwa further explained that a new driver’s licence would be issued to reflect the new colour while the old one would be withdrawn from the vehicle owner, after an approval was granted. 

According to him, all vehicle alterations must be reflected in the registration book by the appropriate authority for documentation.

The police stressed that offenders who change vehicle colour without approval would pay a N3,000 fine or spend six months in jail and in other cases, would do both.

“Where the colour of a vehicle is changed without due approval, the licence of such a vehicle shall become invalid and the owner of the vehicle has committed an offence under these regulations and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N3,000 or to imprisonment for a term of six months or both,” Mr Giwa added.