Court orders police to pay N210m for killing two boys

Presiding Judge, Justice Hassan Dikko of the Federal High Court sitting in Bauchi has ordered the Police to pay N210m compensation for extrajudicial killings of two boys and torturing another friend for allegedly stealing chickens.

The Guardian had, on July 24, 2020, reported that the Divisional Police Officer of the Township Division, SP Baba Ali, allegedly beat Abdulwahab Bello, Ibrahim Babangida and Ibrahim Samaila, over allegations of stealing chickens belonging to a retired police officer.

The rigorous torture led to the death of Samaila and Babangida, though Bello survived with fractures on his legs, among other injuries.

Justice Dikko, while delivering the judgment, said the action of the Police against the three accused amounted to an infringement on their fundamental human rights as enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution. He described the act as extrajudicial killing and uncivilised.