By Correspondent in Lokoja.
Some.residents of Lokoja,Kogi State capital,have commended the judgment of a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja which ordered the Police Command in the state to pay a suspect, Daniel Atabor,one million naira as damages for breaching his fundamental rights..
Our Correspondent recalls that
Justice Sunday Bassay-Onu of a Federal High Court II, on Monday,gave the award while delivering his judgement in the case filed before the court by Atabor, represented by his counsel, Mr O.E. Amoke.
Atabor was arrested on Sept. 25, by the Police A Division, Lokoja, Kogi State, over alleged purchase of a stolen motorcycle from one other person but kept in Kabba Custodian centre ever since without bail or charge him before a Court of Law.
In his judgement,Justice Bassay-Onu noted that the continuous detention of Otabor was a “breach of his fundamental rights”, adding that the police acted against the Section 4 of the Police Act, adding that Section 4 of the Constitution stipulates that a suspect should not be detained beyond a day or two from the time of his/her arrest.
According to him,keeping the applicant beyond the stipulated time frame, within the Police Act, amounted to a breach of his fundamental rights, as enshrined in Sections 34, 35(1)(3)(4)(5)(6), 37 and 41(1)(2) of the nation’s 1999 constitution (as Amended).
He added that, the police action negated the principle contained in Articles 2, 4, 5 and 12(1) of the African Charter of human and people’s rights (rectification and enforcement) Act (Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
The Judge consequently awarded one million as damages to the applicant, against the respondents, for breachind his fundamental rights and liberty.
The court also ordered the respondents to release the applicant on bail and charge him before a law Court and publicly apologise to him in a national newspaper for the breach of his fundamental rights.
Speaking with our Correspondent on Wednesday, Mal. Sadiku Mohammed, expressed delight over the judgment, adding that “it is quite enlightening, to the uninformed,that police has no right detaining suspects more than the period stipulated in the Constitution of the country.”
For Miss Rebecca Ochu, “the judgment is timely as it will go along way to check illegal detention of suspects by the police.”
“At least,we now know that when a suspect is detained more than the period allowed by the Constitution, he or she can approach a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce his or her fundamental rights.
“This is because suspects are presume to be innocent until proved other wise by the court, therefore their fundamental rights must be respected given as such,” she explained.
According to her, the judgment has also brought to fore,the need for the Police to speed up investigation of cases to avoid unnecessary detention of suspects before arraigning them in court.
Responding to the judgment, the Police,through their Counsel, S.I. Ikutowa,claimed that the continued detention of Atabor was because police were still investigating his case, adding that releasing him on bail would negativity affect investigation of the case.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
