The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the prosecution of a police officer over the killing of Kabiru Babai, a truck driver and imam who was allegedly shot dead during a police operation in Osun State.
A police sergeant, Moses Samuel, allegedly killed Mr Babai on 3 December 2021 at Ota-Efun in Osogbo, Osun State.
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On Thursday, more than four years after the incident, Judge Peter Lifu awarded N200 million in damages against the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, the Osun State Command and Mr Samuel after finding that the killing violated Mr Babai’s constitutional right to life.
The judge delivered the judgement on Thursday in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the victim’s widow, Balkisu Kabiru Babai, seeking accountability and compensation over the killing.
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It ruled that the applicant proved her case on the preponderance of affidavit evidence.
“The fundamental right to life of the applicant’s husband was unlawfully violated by the conduct of the 4th respondent,” Judge Lifu held.
He held that the declaratory pryaers of the applicant succeeded and that the widow was entitled to compensation.
“The gravity of the violation and its devastating consequences on the widow and children must be taken into account,” the judge added.
However, the court refused the request to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute criminal proceedings against Mr Samuel.
Nevertheless, the court ordered the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission and the Commissioner of Police, the Osun State Command to commence the prosecution of the officer.
The court also held that liability in fundamental rights cases could extend to supervisory institutions where state agents act in the course of official operations.
Judge Lifu declared the killing unlawful and an infringement of Mr Babai’s constitutional right to life.
The incident
Court records, affidavits and exhibits reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr Babai, worked as a truck driver and borehole drilling operator until his death in December 2021.
In the affidavit filed in support of the suit, Mrs Babai stated that she and her husband were travelling when the truck they were using developed a mechanical fault along the Ota-Efun area of Osogbo.
She stated that police officers arrived at the scene in a minibus and engaged the driver in an argument. According to her, the officers shot the co-driver, Harisu Musa, in the hand during the confrontation.
She said her husband came out from under the truck after hearing the gunshot and questioned the officers. She alleged that an unidentified officer struck him with a shovel and kicked him repeatedly before Mr Samuel, the police sergeant held responsible for the killing, shot him on the left side of his chest.
She stated that the bullet penetrated her husband’s heart and he died on the spot.
Mrs Babai further deposed that the officers fled, but bystanders apprehended one of them and took him, alongside Mr Babai’s body, to the Osun State Police Command.
Mrs Babai stated that her husband’s body was later taken to the mortuary at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital in Osogbo before it was buried in Bauchi State.
She also stated that the killing triggered protests by truck drivers and residents who demanded justice and the prosecution of the officer.
Mrs Babai further wrote that she was nine months pregnant when her husband was killed and gave birth eight days later.
She said Mr Samuel’s family gave her family N50,000 for burial prayers. But she added that neither the officer nor the police authorities provided any further support or ensured his prosecution.
The widow alleged that the Nigeria Police Force was “not serious in prosecuting Sgt Moses Samuel because he was its agent.”
Exhibit OBA 5 attached to the applicant’s affidavit showed that the then Osun Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, announced that Mr Samuel had been arrested and detained for investigation and assured the victim’s family of justice.
The exhibit also stated that disciplinary proceedings had commenced and promised the arraignment of the suspect after the completion of the Orderly Room Trial.
The suit
Mrs Babai, through her lawyer, Okpi Adaafu, filed the suit on 3 August 2022, about eight months after the incident which occurred in December 2021.
Amongh other prayers, she sought in the suit court’s declaration that the killing violated her husband’s fundamental right to life, an order compelling both the police and the Attorney-General to prosecute the officer and N2 billion in compensation.
Court records showed that proceedings were delayed after the applicant encountered difficulties serving the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, and Mr Samuel who were sued alongside the Inspector-General of Police.
On 17 January 2023, Judge Ahmed Mohammed (now a Justice of the Court of Appeal) was granted leave for substituted service through the office of the Inspector-General of Police.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, also a defendant in the suit, challenged the legal action arguing that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction and that he was “not a necessary party”. He also maintained that the police remained the appropriate authority to prosecute the officer.
Mr Adaafu opposed the objection and relied on the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules and Section 174 of the Constitution.
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The Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police also denied liability, arguing that Mr Samuel acted “outside the scope of his official duties.”
But, Mr Adaafu argued that the officer acted during an official operation and that the police authorities remained liable.
Judge Lifu ultimately agreed that the applicant established a violation of Mr Babai’s constitutional right to life and “entered the judgement accordingly.”
While excusing the Attorney-General of the Federation from any accountability duty, the judge ordered police authorities to prosecute Mr Samuel.
The judge also ordered N200 million compensation to be paid to the victim’s widow as compensation.
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