Court Fines IG, 5 Others N200m For Unlawful Arrest In Akwa Ibom

An Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo has ruled that the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, the Police Service Commission, and four others pay a sum of N200 million in damages to Peace Robert, a housewife and mother of two, for her unlawful arrest and detention.

Justice Ntong Ntong, presiding over the case of fundamental rights enforcement brought by the applicant, issued the order on Tuesday, delivering the judgment.

The case’s details revealed that Ifenyinwa Olua approached Peace Robert in March, seeking assistance to connect with a contact in Europe for the purchase of euros against payment in Naira. Subsequently, an amount of £55,000, equivalent to N42.9 million, was transferred to a Spanish account. The rapid succession of transfers prompted suspicion, leading Spanish authorities to restrict the account due to potential illicit funds.

Consequently, the police arrested Peace Robert.

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The respondents in the lawsuit included the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police (Administration), Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja (Mr. Babazango Ibrahim), DSP Yusuf Dauda of Anti-Homicide Section in Alagbon, Lagos, Inspector Celestina Ugbaja of Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos, and the Police Service Commission.

During the judgment delivery, Justice Ntong Ntong noted the absence of any filing by the Inspector General of Police and other respondents to challenge the applicant’s claims from the available records.

Justice Ntong said the evidence before the court showed that “the police threw caution to the wind and became a law unto themselves thereby bastarding the 1999 constitution, disrespecting the order of the court and treating the name of God and office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with disdain.”

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The court mandated the IGP and five other respondents to return the N15 million received from the applicant to the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, pending the hearing and final determination of the criminal charges against the applicant in the Federal High Court.

The judge emphasized that the police, not being a debt recovery agency, lacked the authority to extort funds from the applicant without concluding investigations or securing a guilty verdict from a competent court.

Uwemedimo Nwoko (SAN), counsel for the applicant, hailed the court as the beacon of hope for the common man. In contrast, Akebong Essien, counsel for the respondent, defended his client’s actions, stating they were justified in reporting the matter to the police.

At the time of the judgment, the police had yet to formally arraign the applicant, who has remained in custody since March.