Alhaji Alaka Abayomi, an alleged sponsor, and godfather of the bloodthirsty ritual group, called Badoo, has been denied the award of N500 million damages he made against the Nigeria Police Force for detaining and parading him before the media on July 31st, 2017.
Though Justice Muslim Hassan has knocked the police for Abayomi’s detention beyond a day without a court order, he rejected the prayer to honour the exemplary damages that are valued at N500m in favour of the oil marketer against the police, Punch reports.
The judge also declined his prayer that the court should order the police to “publish and furnish an unreserved apology to the applicant in four national daily newspapers and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp.”
The judge also noted that in spite evidence that the police were given the suit and hearing notices, they did not turned up in court to defend it.
Joined as respondents in the suit, were the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police in Lagos State; and CSP Obot Umoh of the IGP Special Tactical Squad, Lagos.
In his judgment on Tuesday, Justice Hassan held:
“I can see that despite the hearing notice ordered by this court to be served on the respondents, no counter-affidavit was filed to controvert the claims of the plaintiff, which amount to an admission by the respondents.
“I have read and examined the relief and the affidavit of the applicant in the instant suit, which is not contradicted, and discovered that the detention of the plaintiff herein beyond 24 hours, without an order of court, is a breach of his fundamental rights enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
“I agree that the police cannot be prevented from carrying out their constitutional duty but this must be done within the purview of the law and the constitution.”
The sponsor of the dreaded Badoo group had, in the suit filed through his lawyer, by name Ojehomon Tunde, enjoined the court to pronounce that his arrest at his apartment in the Magodo area of Lagos and his consequent detention for over 48 hours at the Lagos Command of the Nigeria Police Force was a violation of his right to personal liberty under Section 35 of the constitution.
Source: NAN
