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.
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.
Judge Kawu subsequently ordered the police to pay the reporter “N10 million as damages for the infringement on her fundamental rights.”
