The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has awarded N12 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force over the 2024 illegal arrest and detention of THE WHISTLER reporter, Kasarahchi Aniagolu.
According to a statement issued on Friday by THE WHISTLER Managing Editor, Tajudeen Suleiman, the court ruled on Wednesday that the police violated Ms Aniagolu’s fundamental rights by arresting, assaulting and detaining her for about eight hours in Abuja.
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The statement said the judge, Bello Kawu, declared in his judgement that the police “subjected the applicant to inhuman and degrading treatment” in violation of section 34(1)(a) and (b) of the Nigerian Constitution.
The judge also held that Ms Aniagolu’s arrest and her subsequent detention in Guzape District of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the police “infringed on the Applicant’s right to personal liberty, in contravention” on contravention of Section 35(1) of the Constitution.
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Judge Kawu subsequently ordered the police to pay the reporter “N10 million as damages for the infringement on her fundamental rights.”
He also ordered the police to pay her “N2 million to cover the cost of litigation.”
Mr Suleiman recalled that the police arrested Ms Aniagolu on 21 February 2024 while she was covering a police clampdown on operators of alleged illegal bureau de change operators in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.
He said the reporter identified herself as a journalist, but police officers allegedly assaulted her, seized her phone and camera, and detained her at the Anti-Violence Crime Unit in Guzape alongside dozens of traders.
The newspaper’s managing editor also said Ms Aniagolu accused the police of breaching her privacy by seizing her phone and deleting photographs stored on it. The police officers were also said to have subjected her to inhuman treatment during her incaceration.
According to Mr Suleiman, the suit, filed on 25 October 2024 against the Inspector General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force had sought N100 million in damages.
He added that the action was filed on the reporter’s behalf by Adekunle Kosoko of Seasons Law Firm, Abuja.
Broader pattern of press attacks
Ms Aniagolu’s case is part of a broader pattern of attacks journalists face in Nigeria in the course of their work.
PREMIUM TIMES reported in June that at least 412 attacks were reported against journalists and media houses between 2023 and early 2026, according to data published on Press Attack Tracker, a Centre for Journalism and Innovation Development (CJID) civic technology tool that tracks, verifies and documents incidents of press freedom violations in West Africa.
As of then, 15 press attacks had been documented in Nigeria in 2026. The country ranked 112th in the World Press Freedom Index, with a global score of 46.81, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
A new report by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) released on Thursday hghlihgted persistent challenges facing journalism and civic participation in Nigeria despite democratic governance.
The report recorded 245 incidents of civic space violations in 2025.
Among the total verified incidents, the report said, state actors were responsible for 219 incidents.
It added that the Nigerian police account 118 of the 219 incidents involving state actors.
Journalists take legal actions
Ms Aniagolu or her organisation is the only one that has taken legal actions to seek redress against violations by the police and other security forces in recent years.
In January, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Lagos-based journalist and publisher of Naija News Today, Friday Alefia, filed a N50 million fundamental rights enforcement suit against the FCT Police Command and a member of the House of Representatives, Chinedu Ogah.
Mr Alefia alleged that his arrest in Lagos, transfer to Abuja and 86-day detention violated his constitutional rights. The suit followed his release after he met the bail conditions imposed by the Federal High Court.
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In June, the ECOWAS Court of Justice awarded journalist Jide Oyekunle N10 million in damages after finding Nigeria liable for violating his rights to freedom of expression, personal liberty and human dignity.
Mr Oyekunle, a journalist with Independent Newspapers, was assaulted, arrested and detained by police while covering the #EndBadGovernance protest in Abuja on 1 August 2024.
An earlier court decision came in September 2018 when the Federal High Court in Abuja awarded Bayelsa-based journalist Jones Abiri N10 million in damages after declaring his more than two years’ detention by the SSS without trial unconstitutional.
The court held that the prolonged detention violated his fundamental rights and ordered the government to pay compensation.
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