The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Army and seven other people to pay N3 million in damages for the brutalization of Ambrose Akhigbe, a Deputy Director at Command Secondary School in Ipaja.
The Nation says that the judge said the brutal beating posed a threat to Akhigbe’s life and that he was very lucky to have survived.
Justice Jame Omotosho said in a ruling that the troops’ acts were barbarous and very wrong, and that such behavior could not be permitted in a democratic country ruled by the rule of law.
Akhigbe, who was the Assistant Vice Principal for Academics, sued the Army, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), the General Officer Commanding 81 Division, the school’s Commandant, Lieutenant Akubor, Private Sani Mustapha, Private Ahmed Usman, and Private Manniru Mukaila.
The plaintiff told the court that the event happened after he filmed what he said was cruel punishment given to a female SSS3 student who was supposedly made to roll in dirty water.
Akhigbe says that when he and others were on their way to the Commandant’s office to talk about the problem, the sixth, seventh, and eighth respondents attacked him from behind, apparently following the orders of the fifth respondent.
He said that the troops hit him with boards, rods, pipe canes, and other things while threatening his life. He also gave video proof of the attack.
Akhigbe added that the attack hurt his head and made him bleed a lot. He further said that the incident led to a protest by staff members, which momentarily stopped school activities.
Justice Omotosho said that Akhigbe had shown enough evidence that the respondents beat him up badly on June 10, 2024, used his fingerprint to unlock his phone, and hurt his head in the process.
The court said that the respondents’ defense was weak and didn’t do enough to address the significant accusations. It pointed out that it mostly concentrated on technical arguments, including estoppel and res judicata, instead of the claims themselves.
Justice Omotosho threw out the defense and said that the applicant’s basic rights had been severely violated.
The judge also said that even if the applicant had done something improper, it was against the law for the respondents to physically attack him. He stressed that this is against Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
The court also said that searching the applicant’s phone was wrong and that access to, searching of, or deleting content from a person’s phone must be based on consent or a valid court order.
Justice Omotosho ordered the respondents to pay N3 million in damages, both together and separately.
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