Bauchi State Police in North-East Nigeria has been ordered to pay a total sum of N210 million as compensation to the families of two persons it tortured to death and another one that sustained serious injury over alleged chicken theft.
Justice Hassan Dikko of the Federal High Court sitting in Bauchi delivered the judgement on Friday.
The Divisional Police Officer of the Township Division, SP Baba Ali, had reportedly tortured the victims; Ibrahim Babangida, Ibrahim Samaila, and Abdulwahab Bello for allegedly stealing chickens belonging to a retired police officer.
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According to reports, the torture led to the death of Samaila and Babangida, while Bello survived with life-threatening injuries.
Bello, after the demise of his friends, slammed three separate suits demanding N150 million as compensation for himself and each of his two friends from the Police.
The defendants in the suit included the DPO, 1st defendant; one Sergeant Jibril Mohammed, 2nd defendant; Inspector-General of Police, 3rd defendant; Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State, 4th defendant; and the Police Service Commission, 5th defendant.
On Friday, Justice Dikko ruled in favour of the three victims noting that the action of the Police against the three accused was an infringement on their fundamental human rights, as contained in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
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The Judge awarded the sum of N100 million each to the families of the deceased, while the 30-year-old survivor was awarded N10 million compensation for the brutality, senseless arrest, and torture he suffered.
“The killing of Ibrahim Babangida on 23rd day July 2020 whose death was as a result of his beating up by the 1st respondent on the 17th day of July 2020, acting under the supervision of the 3rd and 4th respondents for no justifiable reason, constitute extra-judicial killing and is violent deprivation of his fundamental right to life as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and in article 3 and 5 of the African Charter on human rights and dignity is illegal.
“I hereby, order the payment of compensation in the sum of N100m only against the respondents jointly and severally to Hafsatu Babangida being the biological mother of late Ibrahim Babangida, now deceased as general damages,” the Judge ruled.
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