Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Enugu killing: Man seeks N2b, apology over son’s death

By Lawrence Njoku, Enugu
19 August 2022   |   4:02 am
An Enugu State resident, Pius Okoro, has sued the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area (L.G.A) of the state and its officials for the alleged murder of his son, Philip.

An Enugu State resident, Pius Okoro, has sued the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area (L.G.A) of the state and its officials for the alleged murder of his son, Philip.

Mr. Okoro listed the Chairman of Uzo-Uwani LGA, Uzo-Uwani Council and Hon, Chijioke Ezugwu (Chief Security Officer Uzo-Uwani Local Council) as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants in his suit marked E/653/2022 at the Enugu State High Court sitting in Enugu.

He alleged in his originating motion of July 21, 2022, that Phillip was shot dead on June 29, 2022, at Nkpologwu community in the LGA by “the Chief Security Officer of Uzo-Uwani L.G.A, Enugu State and members of his vigilante group”.

The applicant, through his counsel V.N. Ayogu is praying the judge, Justice Martha Onuoha, to among others, compel the defendants to pay him N2 billion as compensation for Phillip’s death.

Specifically, he is seeking three reliefs: a declaration that the shooting and killing of Philip, “is most barbaric, wrongful, unlawful, unjustifiable and violates the deceased’s fundamental rights to life and dignity of the human person as enshrined in Section 33 (1), 34 (1) and 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Article 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as Articles 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“An order directing the respondents to jointly and/or severally, pay to the applicant and his family the sum of N2billion as general damages for the aforesaid extra judicial killing/and unconstitutional violation of late Mr. Philip Okoro’s fundamental right to life and dignity.

“An order of court, directing the respondents to publicly apologise to the applicant and his family for the unlawful shooting and killing of Philip.”

Justice Onuoha has fixed October 14, for hearing.

The applicant is contending in the suit that the respondents knew or ought to know that the deceased did not commit any offence known to the law nor was the deceased convicted and /or condemned by any court of law to deprive him of his right to life.

He averred further that, “The late Mr. Philip Okoro did not commit any criminal offence nor was he sentenced to death by any court of law or tribune in Nigeria.

“The deceased was extra-judicially killed by shooting in the abdomen which bullet pierced through the deceased’s intestines (allegedly) by the 3rd respondent, an agent of the 1st and 2nd respondents at Umuobira Village, Nkpologu in Uzo-Uwani, Enugu State.”

“The respondents have failed, refused and neglected to pay compensation to the family of the deceased, despite visiting the bereaved family.

“The deceased’s shooting and eventual killing has caused the family of the deceased an unquantifiable degree of mental anguish, especially the Applicant who witnessed the gruesome shooting and murder of his son.”

In this article

0 Comments