Court orders police to pay N10m to #EndSARS protesters over rights violation
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to pay N10 million in damages to a group of #EndSARS protesters for the violation of their fundamental human rights.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Musa Kakaki ruled that the protesters were unjustly harassed and their constitutional rights infringed upon during the fourth #EndSARS memorial rally held on October 20, 2024.
The judge held that while law enforcement agencies have the constitutional authority to maintain public order, such powers must be exercised within the confines of democracy and the rule of law. He emphasized that the applicants were entitled to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.
The applicants in the case include Hassan Soweto, Uadiale Kingsley, Ilesanmi Kehinde, Osopale Adeseye, Olamilekan Sanusi, and Miss Osugba Blessing. They were joined by civil society groups such as the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Take It Back Movement (TIBM), and Campaign for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
In their suit, the protesters alleged that during the October 2024 procession, police officers fired live ammunition and tear gas, brutally assaulted participants, and carried out arbitrary arrests. They claimed that those arrested were initially held in a Black Maria (mobile detention cell) before being transferred to Panti Police Station, where they were detained for four hours without charges.
Legal counsel to the applicants, Joseph Opute, argued that the police used excessive force on citizens who were simply exercising their fundamental rights in a peaceful and non-violent manner.
One of the victims, Hassan Soweto, coordinator of the ERC and first applicant in the case, deposed in an affidavit that he and others were tear-gassed, beaten, and unlawfully detained.
The ruling marks a significant judicial stance on police accountability and reinforces the protection of civil liberties in Nigeria.
