Nigeria Content Online

A Maiduguri High
Court, yesterday ordered the federal government, Borno State government
and the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo to pay N100
million as compensation to the family of late Baa Fagu.

Mr Fagu, who was
the father in-law of the late leader of Boko Haram sect, Mohammed
Yusuf, was killed on July 31, 2009 while in detention at the
headquarters of the Borno Police Command. The applicant, Baba Fagu, the
deceased’s son, had filed a suit against the respondents for the
unlawful killing of his father. The sect leader, Mr Yusuf, was also
killed while in police detention.

The presiding
Judge, Mohammed Mustapha, in his judgment held that the detention and
subsequent extra judicial murder of the deceased by the respondent (the
Nigerian Police) just for being an in-law to the Boko Haram leader
violated his right to life.

The murder, he
added, also contravened the right of the deceased to fair hearing as
stated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Mr Fagu
was arrested and detained by the police after a round of violence broke
out in Northern Nigeria in July 2009, when the Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, called for the imposition of sharia law across the country while
attacking security operatives.

According to the
judge, the facts before the court prove that the applicant’s late
father was detained by the agents of the respondents on the fateful day
and was subsequently murdered while in their custody.

“It was illegal,
unconstitutional and violated his right to life as protected by the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the African Charter as
well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“The killing of
the applicant’s father did not only offend the Constitution, but also
the sensibilities of human beings, decent and right thinking Nigerians.
It is against everything that is decent. I don’t think even the Spanish
inquisitors would have done worse than this brutal murder,” Mr Mustapha
said.

The judge said
that the court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the applicant
established without contradiction his entitlement for redress.

Proper burial

The Judge also
ordered the respondents to exhume the corpse of the late Fagu wherever
it was and release the body to his family for burial.

The respondents
were equally ordered to jointly and severally apologise to the
applicant for what the judge described as their “reprehensive and
unconstitutional’’ acts.

Mr Mustapha
declared that public officials and their agents wherever they might be
should be restrained from harassing or intimidating the applicant.

The applicant, Mr Fagu, welcomed the judgement, which he claimed proved that the judiciary was the last hope of the common man.

However, Counsel to
the respondents, Usman Tattama, declined comment, saying he would
notify his clients who will then decide on the next line of action.

The Spokesperson of the Nigerian Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu avoided
reacting to the ruling, saying that “the force is yet to get the
judgement and it will decide the next step to take once it get the full
details of the ruling.”