The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court awarding N5 million in damages against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and other Police officers for violating the fundamental rights of Lagos Lawyer, Kola Sodiya, following his arrest and detention over a civil property dispute.
In a unanimous judgement delivered on July 10, 2026, a three-member panel led by Justice Yargata Byenchit Nimpar dismissed the appeal filed by the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, the Officer-in-Charge of Legal, Zone 2, and two other Police Officers. The appellate court upheld the March 28, 2022 decision of Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which held that Sodiya’s constitutional rights had been violated.
The dispute arose from Sodiya’s arrest over allegations of forgery and falsification of documents relating to a property located at No. 1 Banjoko Street, Harmony Estate, Ifako-Gbagada, Lagos. The Police argued that the arrest was based on criminal allegations, and maintained that they acted within their constitutional and statutory powers to investigate complaints before subsequently arraigning the Lawyer before a competent court.
