ANAMBRA, Onitsha
An Anambra High Court sitting in Onitsha, Anambra State, has asked the police to pay, Mr Ogbonnaya Obasi, a lawyer in the state, the sum of N25m as damages for abuse of human rights and torture.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the court presided by Justice Theophifine Oguji ordered the respondents to tender personal written apology to the lawyer as well as a public apology to be published in a daily newspaper, THE DAILY VENDOR reports.
The court also ordered the police to pay the lawyer “N25m damages, jointly and severally, for assaulting the applicant, and breach of the applicant’s fundamental human rights”.
Obasi had on the fateful day in October 2019 interceded on behalf of the level of torture being perpetrated to a citizen by the police to stop beating the young man, rather the officers turned round and descended on the lawyer.
For this reason, Obasi had instituted the matter against the police following his brutalisation by some police personnel attached to the Onitsha Area Command.
Meanwhile the respondents, Emeka Ebo, Yakubu Aboh, John Agbaka, the Inspector General of Police and Commissioner of Police were absent in court. The judgment on Monday saw no fewer than 30 lawyers appearing for the applicant.
