The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay N200 million in damages over the killing of Abuja based cleric, Mallam Kabiru Babai.
The judgment was delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu in a suit filed by Mr Okpi Adaafu on behalf of the Muslim Community of Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja. The case was brought in the name of Babai’s widow, Balkisu Kabiru Babai, following the circumstances surrounding his death.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that the applicant successfully established her case through affidavit evidence placed before the court. He ruled that Babai’s fundamental right to life was unlawfully violated by the conduct of the fourth respondent.
The judge said the declaratory reliefs sought by the applicant were rooted in the breach of Babai’s constitutional rights and were therefore valid. He added that the widow was entitled to compensation for the unlawful loss of her husband, noting that the seriousness of the violation and the painful effect on his wife and children could not be ignored.
The court subsequently declared the killing unlawful and a clear infringement of Babai’s constitutional right to life. It also awarded N200 million against the second, third and fourth respondents as compensation and exemplary damages.
Although the court declined the request asking the Attorney General of the Federation to personally institute criminal proceedings against the officer involved, it directed the first, second and third respondents to begin prosecution of Sergeant Moses Samuel.
Babai was said to have been killed on December 3, 2021, during an incident in Osogbo, Osun State. Court records showed that he and others were travelling in a truck when the vehicle developed a mechanical fault at Ota Efun in Osogbo.
While Babai was under the truck trying to fix the problem, police officers reportedly arrived in a minibus and got into an argument with the truck driver. During the confrontation, one of the officers allegedly shot the co driver, Harisu Musa, in the hand.
The court heard that Babai then came out from beneath the truck and questioned why the driver had been shot. It was at that point, according to the records before the court, that one of the officers allegedly struck him with a shovel and kicked him repeatedly.
The situation reportedly escalated when Sergeant Moses Samuel allegedly hit Babai with the butt of his gun before shooting him in the chest. The bullet was said to have pierced his heart, killing him on the spot.
Following the shooting, the officers were said to have fled the scene. However, bystanders reportedly apprehended one of them and took him, along with Babai’s body, to the police command.
Babai’s remains were later moved from the Osun Police Command to the mortuary at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital in Osogbo before they were eventually taken to Bauchi State for burial.
Before his death, Babai was described as a truck driver, an imam, a philanthropist and the breadwinner of his family. Despite the fact that police authorities reportedly indicted Samuel for murder, no prosecution followed and no support was said to have been provided to the late cleric’s family.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1292/2022, was filed on August 3, 2022. Those listed as respondents in the matter were the Police Service Commission, the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Sergeant Moses Samuel and the Attorney General of the Federation.
In the suit, the applicant asked the court to declare that Babai’s killing was unlawful and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to life. She also sought an order compelling Samuel’s prosecution and demanded N2 billion as compensation and exemplary damages.
The Attorney General of the Federation had challenged the case through a preliminary objection, arguing that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter and that he was wrongly joined in the suit. He also maintained that the police remained the proper authority to prosecute the officer.
Adaafu, however, opposed the objection and urged the court to dismiss it. He argued that the AGF relied on the Federal High Court Rules instead of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules. He further cited Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the Attorney General to institute and undertake criminal proceedings.
The Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Osun also filed a counter affidavit, contending that they could not be held liable for actions allegedly carried out outside the scope of Samuel’s official duty.
But the applicant disagreed, insisting that Samuel acted in the course of his official duty and in the company of other police officers when the incident happened.
