Ostensibly to stem the rate of police brutality in the country, the State High Court sitting in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom state has slammed N.8million judgement against the Nigerian Police Force for an unlawful arrest and detention of the Chapter Chairman of Essien Udim Local Government Council Mr. Friday Michael Udo.
Mr. Udo filed suit no. HT/FHR/53/2014 on the 30th October, 2014 against the police for unlawful arrest and detention following the attack of Senator Helen Esuene in Essien Udim during her governorship campaign tour of the area.
Senator Esuene as a Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant according to counsel to Udo, Mr. Emmanuel Etietop, went to Essien Udim for campaign on October 10, 2014 and she was warmly received by the Chapter Chairman, other party officials and other people at the PDP chapter Secretariat at Essien Udim LGA.
He averred that, “after Senator Esuene had presented her manifesto, the chapter chairman responded and as he began to respond, hoodlums, about 20 came in with guns and other lethal weapons and disrupted the meeting. Grievous bodily harm was inflicted on the chapter chairman and be was in a pool of blood. The commissioner of police invited the chapter chairman for questioning.
“On arrival, he was handed over to the police area commander who is based at Ikot Ekpene who took the applicant to Ikot Ekpene and detained him from 20/10/2014 to 21/12/2014. His offence was not disclosed. When applicant filed an action in court for the enforcement of his fundamental rights, he deposed in his affidavit that he was warned by the chairman of Essien Udim LGA not to host any governorship aspirant apart from Mr. Udom Emmanuel. But applicant said it is democracy. Let there be a level playing ground”.
He also deposed that Udo was the chairman of a Church function at Methodist Church, Ukana and he invited other aspirants to the occasion. That made the same Nse Ntuen (Council Chairman) to go and lock up the Church and the function could not hold, thereby committing a sacrilege.
However the police in their counter affidavit deposed by the IPO, Mr. Ita Edited said that the applicant was arrested based on the petition of Senator Helen Esuene which was attached to the counter affidavit and marked as Exhibit POL 1. And that it was after the receipt of the petition that the police discovered in their investigation that the cause of the crisis was that Senator Esuene announced a donation of N1m to the youths.
He said, “it was because of the prima facie case of stealing the N1m that they arrested the applicant. That the applicant did not release N1m to the youths and this made the youths to make trouble”.
But the applicant in his further and better affidavit deposed that “Senator Esuene announced a donation of N1m to the party, not to the youths. The elders, women, youths and others would have their shares in it. Moreover, the money was not yet released by Senator Esuene. It was most likely to have been released at the end of the rally if it was not disrupted. Applicant further deposed that the petition, Senator Esuene stated her ordeal at Essien Udim and named those assaulted which included the applicant.
“The applicant in his further and better affidavit further deposed that Senator Helen Esuene in her petition did not mention that her N1m was stolen. Yet the police said they relied on her petition to investigate the case of stealing”.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Eno Isangedighi on December 18, 2014, the court held that “the arrest and detention of the applicant by the police from 20/12/2014 to 21/12/2014 and constant threats to further arrest and detain him is an infringement on Applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed by the 1999 constitution as amended”.
The court further issued an order directing the police “to pay N800, 000 as compensatory damages to the applicant and N20, 000 to be paid as cost. An order restraining the respondents by themselves, agents, servants or any person acting through them from further arresting, detaining or threatening to so do in connection to this matter. A written apology to be written to the applicant and published in two newspapers”.
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