Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo, the state capital has ordered N20 million damages against the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for the unlawful arrest and detention of the Village Head of Ikot Oku Ikono in Uyo local government area, Eteidung Okon Nnanah Akpan.
He was arrested over issues bothering on electric transformer in the village.
Consequently, the court headed by Justice Ntong Ntong ordered the police to pay him N20 million “for arresting him on 28 February 2022, and 28 April 2022, at the Anti-cultism Unit (ACU) of the state Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia and continually harassing him till date”.
Of the amount, the court held that the respondents among them, “one Jimmy Godwin, who instigated the police against the village head, is to cough out N10 million, the assistant inspector-general of police (AIG) Zone 6, Calabar, Cross River state, who authorised the unlawful action, N6 million, while the investigative police officer (IPO), one Inspector Wofai Johnson of Anti-vice Unit (AVU), Zone 6, Calabar, who obeyed the unlawful order of the AIG, will pay the village head of Ikot Oku Ikono N4 million”.
The judge said, “The action of the police has consistently made the village head to suffer aggravated and psychological harassment, just because he performed his constitutional functions for his community”, adding that “the police chose to remain aloof after they were served the originating processes in the matter”.
The court held that “the Nigeria Police Force should now be more discreet and civil in their investigations especially where the matter is civil and contractual”.
“The assistant inspector-general of police, Zone 6 and two other respondents are liable for breaching the fundamental rights of the applicant”, the court added.
