News
Nigerian court orders police to pay woman N100m over death of husband
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the Inspector-General Police to pay N100 million to Mrs Mary Kajo over the alleged arrest, unlawful detention, torture and death of her husband, Mark Kajo.
Delivering judgement, Justice Inyang Ekwo also ordered the police authorities to pay the sum of N500,000 as the cost of filing the suit.
Justice Ekwo directed a five per cent post-judgment interest on the fine until the judgement debt is fully settled.
The judge, who observed that the police authorities did not challenge the case of the applicant, said: “The position of the law remains that affidavit evidence which is not challenged or controverted howsoever, is deemed admitted and can be relied upon by a court.”
He, therefore, declared that the killing of the late Mark in custody by agents of the police was wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional.
He said it violated Mark’s constitutional rights under Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, CAP.A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
He said the deceased had a fundamental right to life guaranteed and enforceable under the laws
“I find that the applicant has established that the fundamental rights of her husband, Mr Mark Kajo, have been breached by the inexplicable cold-blooded extra-judicial killing of the deceased in the custody of the 1st to 3rd respondents.
“Nothing can ever be more barbaric and nastier than this kind of death in the hands of law enforcement agents whose statutory and constitutional duty is to protect lives and property.
“By not filing any process in this case, I presume that the 1st–3rd respondents are least perturbed about such a loss of a citizen’s life in their custody and the outcome of this suit.
“Where it is established that the fundamental right of a citizen has been breached, the law is trite that damages in compensation legally and naturally follow every act of violation of a citizen’s fundamental right,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mary Kajo, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/600/2023, sued the Nigeria Police Force, its Inspector General, Benue State Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation, as 1st to 4th respondents, respectively.
In the affidavit she deposed to on May 2, 2023, Mary averred that her husband, a plumber, was arrested, detained and tortured by the police and eventually executed without trial.
She said Mark was arrested by officers of the police on Jan. 1, 2018 around Wurukum Market in Makurdi.
According to her, on January 1, 2018, her husband left home for Wurukum Market to purchase medicine for their ailing child, who woke up that morning feeling ill but did not return home nor did he call to check up on the sick child.
She said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Benue State Police Headquarters in Makurdi told her that one Aondover in their custody made a confessional statement that he stole a car and gave it to Mark.
Mary averred that her husband was moved to Police Headquarters in Abuja and referred to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) at Area 3.
The mother of five further alleged that the police told the North-Central Zone of the Presidential Panel Hearing on SARS Reform 2018, where a petition was filed, that her husband was killed in custody by armed thugs.
The armed thugs attacked the vehicle conveying them to recover hidden arms and in the course of exchanging fire, three of the suspects were shot and died on the spot, including her husband and their corpses were deposited at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital’s morgue, in Gwagwalada.
The AGF, in its counter affidavit deposed to by Adedayo Adeboye, an official in the office, argued that none of Mary’s averments were against his office.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority says it has commenced a clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom State.
The state Coordinator, Ikechukwu Eseka, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Bakshar Hussaini, in his office on a courtesy visit.
He said, “We have started enforcement of LPG retailers embarking on illegal decanting of LPG, filling stations, LPG refilling plants and other illegal downstream operations in the state.
“We are currently working on the illegal proliferation of decanting of LPG in the state, Eseka stated, adding that gas is very volatile, and some of them are using gas that is not meant for the purpose.”
He said he has directed that gas plant owners should not load gas on people who don’t have licenses NMDPRA in the state, warning that “decanting of gas from cylinder to cylinder is an illegal activity which is punishable by law.”
He also called on marketers to register and renew their licenses before operating LPG in the state.
“We used the opportunity to talk on the aspects of the downstream which has to do with our enforcement, sealing of filling stations and those who are using diesel for industrial purposes that are yet to register with NMDPRA.
“We have also commenced engagement with individuals and organisations using storage tanks that are over 500 litres, to come and register with the Authority in the state,” he added.
Eseka thanked the Commandant for coming to re-strategise and collaborate with the Authority in the state.
Earlier, the State Commandant of NSCDC, Hussaini, explained that the purpose of coming was to collaborate with NMDPRA on how to checkmate indiscriminate decanting of LPG in the state.
“I know with the present situation in the country, a lot of them are going to cry and you have to use human face to handle their cases so that we don’t injure the government and the public themselves,” he said.
He lamented that some people used their houses to sell cooking gas which can cause environmental hazards to the public.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced plans to phase out the Permanent Voter Cards, PVC.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made this known at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs, held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja on Thursday.
This was part of the identified 142 recommendations released by the Commission which deals with the general state of preparedness, voter management, voter education and public communication, political parties and candidate management.
Other areas of recommendation include electoral operations and logistics management, election officials and personnel, partnership and collaboration, monitoring and supervision, election technology, voting and result management, election security, electoral offences and the electoral legal framework.
The Chairman said there are eight recommendations among the 142 which require legislative action by the National Assembly.
“The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC, as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
He, however, said that those who already have the Permanent Voter Cards can still use them to vote.
He added, “But going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation. ”
Yakubu said this new development will save costs and further eliminate the issues around the collection of Permanent Voter Cards.
He also said the practice of buying up the Permanent Voter Cards from voters to disenfranchise them, would be reduced.
President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2025 proposed budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
The announcement was made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a plenary session, revealing that the President has sent a communication to that effect.
“The president has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025m budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on the 17th of December, 2024,” he said.
The proposed budget, totalling N47.9 trillion, was earlier announced by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu.
NMDPRA begins clampdown on illegal LPG retail outlets in Akwa Ibom
Elections in Nigeria: There’ll be no more need for voter cards – INEC
BREAKING: Tinubu to present 2025 budget proposal to National Assembly Tuesday
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