A High Court in Gudu, Abuja, within the Federal Capital Territory, has mandated the Inspector General of Police to compensate the sum of N50 million in damages to the late Chief M. K. O Abiola’s wife, Prof Zainab Abiola, for infringing on her fundamental rights.
Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi, delivering the judgment, further directed the police to issue a public apology to Prof Zainab Abiola in two national newspapers. The court case, marked FCT/HC/CV/2431/2023, was initiated by Abiola in a bid to enforce her fundamental human rights. The defendants included the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, Inspector Teju Moses, and Engineer Ibrahim (son of former IGP Usman Alkali Baba).
Abiola asserted that in 2022, police officers had invaded her residence in Abuja, apprehended her in nightwear, and transported her to the station, where she was allegedly detained and subjected to three days of torture without a trial.
Despite the respondents’ claim of not recognizing her and disputing the allegations, Justice Osho-Adebiyi, as stated in the Certified True Copy of the judgment, declared that the defendants’ detention of Abiola without bringing her before a court of competent jurisdiction was a severe infringement of her right to personal liberty.
The judgment partly read, “ It is hereby declared that the detention of the applicant from the 20th day of September 2022 to 23rd September 2022, without arraigning her before a court of competent jurisdiction is a violation of the applicant’s right to personal liberty under Section 35 of the constitution and is therefore unlawful and unconstitutional.
“It is further declared that the arrest of the applicant by the defendants in her nightgown without giving her the opportunity to dress decently is an infringement of her right to personal dignity. It is more debasing and a further infringement of her right to personal dignity when applicant was paraded in her nightgown. In the circumstances, the sum of N50,000,000.00 only is awarded to the applicant as compensation against the first, second and fourth respondents jointly.
“The respondents are hereby ordered to tender a public apology to the applicant in two of national daily newspapers in pursuance of the provisions of Section 35 (6) I of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
The police had accused Abiola of assaulting a female police officer, Inspector Teju Moses.
She was said to have assaulted the policewoman alongside her domestic staff, Rebecca Enechido, at her residence in the Garki area of the FCT on September 20,2022.
