Court awards N10 million compensation to widow of 2011 election violence victim

Felix Afolalu, a lecturer at the Kaduna Polytechnic, was killed on April 18, 2011, by rioters.

The court of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Wednesday, awarded N10 million as compensation to a Nigerian widow whose husband was brutally murdered during the violence that followed the 2011 Nigerian general elections.

Dorcas Afolalu, through her counsel, Sola Egbeyinka of the Falana & Falana’s Chambers, had slammed a $20 million (N3.27 billion) suit against the federal government, whom she blamed for the unlawful killing of her husband.

Felix Afolalu, 32, a lecturer at the Kaduna Polytechnic, was killed on April 18, 2011, by rioters who were protesting the outcome of the presidential election.

In her oral testimony before the court, Mrs. Afolalu recalled that her husband was beaten to a coma before he was burnt to death by the thugs who stormed their residence inside the Polytechnic.

She informed the court that her husband had just completed his doctoral degree in geophysics and had concluded arrangements to transfer his services to the Institute of Mining in Jos, Plateau
State.

Mrs. Afolalu further disclosed that while other victims of the civil disturbances had been compensated, herself and her three children, aged below 10, have been neglected by the Federal Government.

Even though the federal government filed a statement of defence, it did not call any witness to controvert the evidence of the plaintiff.

In its judgment, the ECOWAS court stated that it accepted the unchallenged evidence of the plaintiff and held that the Federal Government failed in its duty to secure the life of the deceased.

The court therefore awarded N10 million damages against the Federal Government.