Court orders Police IG to pay N4m for illegal imprisonment of 4 men

The judge ordered the police to pay N1 million to each of the men as compensation for illegally remanding them in prison.

The victims, Ozor Okolocha, Elvis Obiaku, Edward Onyenoknone and Imoni Micah hail from Ase-Omuku in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State.

The respondents in the case are the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police.

Justice Okeke held that respondents refused to renew the order of remand from the court, which elapsed after 14 days.

The judge said, "As compensation for the violation of their fundamental rights, N1m should be paid to each of the applicants for the hardship and embarrassment suffered by them.

"The applicants were continuously detained at Keffi Prison without remand order, renewal and without charges preferred against them.

"This is a gross violation of their fundamental rights as provided in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended."

He held that the detention of the applicants and violation of their rights to liberty were not justified by the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

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The judge also ordered that the police must not arrest the applicants over the issues in the suit.

On December 17, 2015, and January 6, 2016, the applicants were arrested at their home town in Ase-Omuku in Ndokwa East LGA of Delta.

After their arrest, they were transported to Abuja by Inspector Tony Alabi and detained at Keffi Prison on remand order from an Abuja Magistrate Court.

The police, however, did not renew the remand order after it expired, until April 5, when the suit was filed.