A verdict from the Ijebu-Ode Division of the High Court in Ogun State has mandated the payment of N2 million in damages by the police to Abolaji Alaba in response to his unlawful arrest and detention.
Justice A.A Omoniyi, in a decision dated September 29, 2023, declared that Alaba’s arrest was not only unlawful but also unjustifiable and unconstitutional, asserting a violation of the applicant’s rights.
The court ruled that Alaba had been wrongfully detained by police operatives at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad facility in Magbon, Abeokuta, from June 25, 2018, to July 1, 2018.
The legal proceedings, with suit No. HCJ/184/2020, involved the applicant Alaba and defendants such as the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, the Police Public Relations Officer, and other police officers.
The application was lodged under Order 1 Rule 2(1), 2, and 3 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009), along with Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, and 18 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) 2014. Additionally, Sections 3, 35, 36, and 46 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, were invoked.
Alaba contended that he was detained in June 2020 by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad on charges of armed robbery, abduction, attempted murder, and obtaining money under false pretenses amounting to N25 million, accusations he vehemently denied. He further claimed that the police violated his fundamental human rights by parading him before the media, resulting in publications in violation of his rights.
The application read, “Precisely, on Thursday, June 25, 2018, around 11.25 pm, members of the SARS led by the 5th respondent, in the company of about six other policemen, came to my residence at No 32, Asanke Quarters, Ijebu Ode-Epe Expressway to arrest me”.
