Nigerian legal practitioner and women’s rights activist, Funmi Falana is seeking the payment of N150 million as compensation for #occupylekkitollgate protesters harassed and tortured by police officers on February 13, 2021, at the Lekki toll gate.
The protesters are popular comedian, Debo Adebayo, also known as Mr Macaroni and Michael Adenola.
Both activists were arrested and thrown inside a Black Maria while protesting against the premature reopening of the Lekki toll gate.
Recall that some aggrieved youths had held a peaceful protest at the toll gate on the said date following a decision of the judicial panel of inquiry to reopen the gate. The toll gate was shut after men of the Nigerian Army opened fire on peaceful protesters on October 20, 2020, killing some of them.
During the protest on February 13, 2021, protesters were arrested and subjected to harassment, torture and other forms of inhumane treatment by the security operatives. The officers also tear-gassed the peaceful protesters.
Applying on behalf of the protesters, Falana argued that the police officers deployed to the Lekki tollgate are duty-bound to protect the protesters not to harass them.
She stated this while addressing the Federal High Court in Lagos last Friday in the case of Adebowale v Inspector-General of Police presided over by Justice Ambrose Allagoa.
Falana said by virtue of section 83 (4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020, members of the Nigeria Police Force are duty-bound to protect protesters. She said that the police breached the duty by disrupting, arresting and detaining Adebowale and fellow protesters during a rally in Lagos on February 13, 2021.
However, the defence counsel, M.O Omosun, while seeking a dismissal of the fundamental rights case, submitted that the inability of the applicant to name the police officers who allegedly arrested and detained him was fatal as section 341 of the Police Establishment Act provides that every police officer is proven to have breached the fundamental right of any citizen shall be personally held liable.
He also argued that the case constitutes an abuse of court process on the ground that the applicant had failed to prove the breach of any of his fundamental rights by the respondents.
Falana countered by saying that the applicant who was subjected to the heavy dose of teargas and torture was not in a position to know the names of the individual police officers who violated his fundamental rights.
She further insisted that there are no unknown policemen or women in Nigeria as she cited the case of Ransome-Kuti v Attorney-General of the Federation (1985) 1 NWLR (Pt 6) 124 where Justice Kayode Eso held that there can be no unknown soldier under the 1979 Constitution as was the case under the 1963 Constitution when it was said that the King could do no wrong.
In responding to the issue of locus standi raised suo motu by the Judge, Falana said that the 2009 Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules have abolished the backward doctrine of locus standi in the enforcement of human rights.
She further submitted that as a victim of the fundamental rights violated by the respondents, the applicant’s case cannot be questioned even under the restrictive doctrine of locus standi.
She, therefore, urged the Court to declare the breach of the Applicants’ fundamental rights illegal and compensate him by way of damages.
A part of the court document obtained by our correspondent reads, “a declaration that the humiliation, torture and gross violence meted out on him while in the custody of the Nigeria police was abhorrent, inhumane and on gross violence on his right to dignity of his person:
“A declaration that the failure of the 1 and 2 respondents to provide adequate security for the Applicant and other protesters during peaceful protests against police brutality in Nigeria on February 13 in 2021 is illegal as it violates the fundamental right of the Applicant to life guaranteed by the constitution.
“An order directing the 1 and 2nd respondents to provide adequate security for the Applicant and other citizens during protests, public meetings and rallies;
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, its agents, privies and servants from further violating the Applicant’s fundamental rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association in any manner whatsoever and however.
“An order directing the respondents to jointly and severally pay to the applicant the sum of N150 million (One hundred and fifty million naira) as damages for the unlawful and unconstitutional harassment and prevention of the applicant from exercising his right to peaceful assembly and association.”
