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.”



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