Youth Protesting In 2021 after the killing/Fij
The Federal High Court in Abuja has awarded N200 million in damages to the widow of a truck driver, Kabiru Babai, who was unlawfully killed by a police sergeant in Osun State in 2021.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the fatal shooting of Babai by Sergeant Moses Samuel amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to life as guaranteed under Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The court also directed the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, to immediately commence the prosecution of the officer over the incident.
Babai’s widow, Balkisu, had instituted the fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Sergeant Samuel and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
She sought a declaration that the killing of her husband on December 3, 2021, was unlawful, an order directing the prosecution of the officer involved, and N2 billion in compensation.
Court documents showed that the deceased was repairing a broken-down truck at Ota-Efun, Osogbo, when police officers approached the scene and confronted those around the vehicle.
During the encounter, one of the officers allegedly shot the truck’s co-driver in the hand. Babai was said to have emerged from beneath the truck to question the action, after which Sergeant Samuel allegedly assaulted him with a shovel, struck him with the butt of a rifle and shot him in the chest.
He died on the spot.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu held that the applicant had successfully proved that the deceased’s constitutional right to life was unlawfully violated by the conduct of the fourth respondent.
The court subsequently declared the killing unconstitutional and awarded N200 million as compensatory and exemplary damages against the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, and Sergeant Samuel for the unlawful killing and the trauma suffered by the victim’s family.
However, the court declined the request seeking an order compelling the Attorney-General of the Federation to initiate criminal proceedings against the police sergeant.
The suit followed allegations that although the police had indicted Sergeant Samuel after the incident, he had not been prosecuted before the case was filed in August 2022.NAN
