In a recent judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice Ntong Ntong of the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo has directed the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, the Police Service Commission (PSC), and four other individuals to pay N200m in damages to Peace Robert, a housewife and mother of two, for her unjust arrest and detention.
The ruling was made in response to a case of fundamental rights enforcement brought by the applicant. The court heard that Ifenyinwa Olua had approached Peace Robert in March, seeking assistance in connecting with someone in Europe interested in purchasing euros and paying in Naira. Subsequently, £55,000 (equivalent to N42.9m) was transferred to a Spanish account, leading to suspicion by Spanish authorities of possible illicit funds, resulting in restrictions on the account.
As a consequence, Peace Robert was apprehended by the police. The respondents in the case included the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Administration, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja (Mr. Babazango Ibrahim), DSP Yusuf Dauda of Anti-Homicide Section, Alagbon in Lagos, Inspector Celestina Ugbaja of Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, Lagos, and the Police Service Commission.
Justice Ntong Ntong, in his judgment, expressed concern that the police had disregarded legal procedures and acted in defiance of court orders. The court not only mandated the payment of N200m in damages to the applicant but also instructed the IGP and other respondents to return the N15m collected from Peace Robert to the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, pending the hearing and final determination of the criminal charges against her.
The judge emphasized that the police were not authorized to act as a debt recovery agency and condemned the extortion of N15m from the applicant without completing the investigation or securing a court verdict. The applicant’s counsel, Uwemedimo Nwoko (SAN), applauded the court as the last hope for the common man, while the respondent’s counsel, Akebong Essien, maintained that reporting the matter to the police was justified.
As of the judgment, the police had yet to properly arraign the applicant, who has been in custody since March.
