Police fined N50m for arresting MKO Abiola’s widow in nightgown

Published

 January 19, 2024

By

 Juliet

The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gudu, Abuja, has mandated the Inspector-General of Police to pay N50 million in damages to Prof Zainab Abiola, the widow of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi, also requires the police to issue a public apology in two national newspapers for violating her fundamental rights during an arrest where she was wearing only a nightgown.

Abiola had filed a fundamental human rights enforcement suit against the IG, the Nigeria Police Force, Inspector Teju Moses, and Engineer Ibrahim.She alleged that police officers invaded her Abuja residence in 2022, arresting her while she was in a nightgown and subsequently detaining and torturing her for three days without trial.

In the court’s judgment, Justice Osho-Adebiyi stated, “It is hereby declared that the detention of the applicant from the 20th day of September 2022 to the 23rd of September 2022, without arraigning her before a court of competent jurisdiction is a violation of the applicant’s right to personal liberty under Section 35 of the constitution and is therefore unlawful and unconstitutional.”

The court further declared that the arrest of Prof Abiola in her nightgown, without giving her the opportunity to dress decently, infringed upon her right to personal dignity. The judge emphasized the debasing nature of parading her in a nightgown.

As part of the judgment, the court awarded the sum of N50,000,000.00 to Prof Abiola as compensation against the first, second, and fourth respondents jointly.

Additionally, the police are ordered to issue a public apology to Prof Abiola in two national daily newspapers, as stipulated by Section 35 (6) I of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).