FEDERAL HIGH COURT AWARDS N20 MILLION TO SUSPECT PARADED BY THE POLICE BEFORE THE MEDIA

The practice of the Nigeria Police Force parading arrested  suspects undergoing investigation has been declared by the Federal High Court, Calabar presided over by Honourable Justice C.J. Aneke unconstitutional, illegal and wrongful and contrary to the provisions of Section 34 subsection 1 and 36 subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 5 & 7 (1) (b) of the African Charter on Human & Peoples Right (Ratification & Enforcement) Act, 2004.

In a landmark judgment delivered on the 18th July, 2011, in Suit No. FHC/CA/CS/91/2009 between Ottoh Obono v. Inspector General of Police, Honourable Justice Aneke held that “ the parading of the Applicant (Ottoh Obono) on the 7th October, 2009 by the 2nd Respondent (Commissioner of Police, Lagos State) before a horde of journalists from both the print and electronic media prior to the Applicant’s arraignment before a Court of competent jurisdiction as a member of a gang of armed robbers who specialises in car snatching and the subsequent publishing of the Applicant’s photographs in the Punch Newspaper of Thursday, the 8th of October, 2009 and the airing of same news item on the 9 ‘o’ clock Network News Programme of the NTA on the same date, only for the said Applicant to be exonerated of having committed any crime by the Legal Advice of the Learned Director of Public Prosecutions of Lagos State after having spent a period of over ten (10) months at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prisons, Lagos State on remand, makes nonsense of the Applicant’s right to presumption of innocence as enshrined in Section 36 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and leaves much to be desired in the administration of justice system in this Country. The Respondents’ conducts against the Applicant are totally reprehensible and condemnable and I hereby condemn same without equivocation”.

The Judge admonished the Police to take a cue from their counterparts from other advanced jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Canada, South Africa etc and be circumspect in rushing to arrest suspects when they are yet to complete investigations and properly equip themselves with sufficient facts and evidence to ground conviction.

Honourable Justice Aneke, said he agree completely with the submission of Counsel to the Applicant, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla,the arrest, detention, impoundment of properties and disruption of the Applicant’s business and family life was illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional and consequently the Applicant was entitled to the awarded of general/exemplary damages for the infringement of his fundamental rights. The Court therefore awarded the Applicant general/exemplary damages of N20 Million and N50, 000 as costs. The Court also ordered the Police to release within seven days all the vehicles of the Applicant impounded by the Police.

Okoi Obono-Obla