Court orders IGP to pay N100m for unlawful arrest, murder of ‘Free Zakzaky protester’
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
Justice Zainab Abubakar of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has lambasted the Inspector-General of Police for extra-, judicial killing of Ja’afar Muhammad and ordered him to pay fine of N100 million for the arrest and killing of Ja’afar Muhammad, one of the members of ‘Free Zakzaky’ protesters in Abuja.
In a judgement delivered on suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CD/409/2020, Justice Abubakar held that the arrest of late Muhammad by police officers at Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital on July 22, 2019, and his killing on July 24, 2019, at SARS Abattoir, Abuja, amounted to a gross violation of his fundamental rights as enshrined in Section 33 (1) 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The judge described the action of the police as reckless, illegal, unlawful, null, and void.
Recall that Mr Naziru Isah Abdullahi, a brother to the deceased, through his counsel, Bala Dakum, had instituted a legal action against the IGP and the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Asokoro District Hospital as 1st and 2nd respondents, respectively.
In the originating Motion on Notice filed on March 19, 2020, Abdullahi averred that Muhammad was shot on July 22, 2019 by operatives of the police while on a peaceful protest to demand the release of the leader of the Islamic Movement, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife Zeenah, at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja..
According to the deceased brother Abdullahi, late Muhammad was subsequently rushed to the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital for medical attention, where he was arrested the same day and detained at SARS Abattoir, Abuja, without Medicare before he gave up the ghost on July 24, 2019.
In the judgement delivered on May 22 and a certified true copy of the document made available to newsmen on June 2, Justice Abubakar held that Abdullahi had been able to establish that his brother, Muhammad, was shot by the police, and as a result, sustained injury while on a peaceful protest and died in custody.
The judge further held that it was established that, upon the demise of Ja’afar Muhammad, his corpse was deposited at the Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja.
“Based on the foregoing, I hold that the applicant has proved the infringement of his fundamental rights against the respondents as he alleged, and he is therefore entitled to the grant of the reliefs sought.
“Accordingly, reliefs (a), (b), (c), and (d) are granted to the applicant as prayed,” the judge declared.
The judge who gave the order directing the IGP and the CMD to release Muhammad’s corpse to the applicant for immediate burial in accordance with Islamic rites, also ordered the IGP to pay the sum of N100 million for unlawful detention and killing of Muhammad.
Besides, she equally ordered the IGP to tender a formal apology to the applicant (Abdullahi) by publishing the same in two national dailies.