Appeal Court declares detention of 12-yr-old boy illegal, affirms lower court ruling
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A ruling by an Enugu High Court that the detention of a 12-year-old boy is illegal has been affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Enugu which equally declared the action by the State Security Services (SSS) as illegal and also upheld the N5 million fine on the SSS by the lower court.
The news was broken in a statement issued by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) lawyer Ifeanyi Ejiofor.
Ejiofor disclosed that Judge Abdul-Azeez Waziri of the appellate court ruled that the arrest and detention of Stephen Egwuatu, now 15, by the SSS on 8 November 2021 when he was aged 12 is unlawful and a violation of his fundamental rights.
Egwuatu was released on 11 November 2021.
The statement read: “The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu judicial Division has just delivered a landmark judgment in the Appeal by the State Security Service [SSS] versus Stephen Egwatu, filed by the SSS to challenge the decision of the Enugu State High Court.
“The High Court had, on 4th July 2023, declared the arrest and detention of Mr. Stephen Egwuatu unlawful, describing it as a vicious violation of his fundamental rights.
“It is pertinent to note that Stephen was only 12 years at the time of his arrest and detention.
“Although he was arrested on the 8th November, 2021 and released on 11th November, 2021, the court strongly condemned the actions of the SSS in the unlawful arrest and detention of an innocent minor, and consequently awarded a cost of N5 million against the SSS.
“The SSS, however, through the Enugu State Ministry of Justice, appealed against the said judgment.
“In a unanimous Judgment delivered [on] 27th March 2025, the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, dismissed the appeal as unmeritorious.
“My Lord the Hon. Justice Abdul-Azeez Waziri (JCA), who read the lead judgment, upheld the judgment of the High Court and reaffirmed the punitive cost awarded against the SSS.”
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