Police to pay Suntai’s spokesman N2.5m for unlawful detention

The Federal High Court in Jalingo has ordered the Nigeria Police to pay N2.5 million as compensation to the Senior Special Assistant on Media to Governor Danbaba Suntai, Mr Sylvanus Giwa, and his friends for unlawful arrest, detention and torture.

Delivering judgement yesterday in a case filed by Giwa in Jalingo, the judge, Justice Donatus Okorowo, said the police violated the fundamental human rights of the of Giwa and his friends.

Counsel to Giwa, Ibrahim Effiong, had told the court that the police had on September 27, 2013 arrested and detained his client and four of his friends without stating the grounds and facts of their action. Effiong prayed the court to order the police to apologise to his client and pay him and his friends N200 million compensation.

Counsel to the police, Mr Henry Ogbeiwe, argued that the respondents were performing lawful duties assigned to them. The court however overruled that, saying the police had to perform their duties within the ambit of the law.

“The police didn’t justify their arrest in the first place, so any other action on them amounted to violation of their right to freedom of assembly, freedom of association and right of privacy”, he said. Okorowo added that the unlawful detention violated Section 41 of the 1999 constitution which deals with freedom of movement anywhere in the country.