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…Orders Military Authorities to Produce Body of a Deceased who died in its custody.
Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos has ordered the Nigerian Army to pay the sum of hundred million Naira (N100m) to Mr. Sefiya Charles Enos in the case of human rights abuse brought against it in respect of his son, Charles Hassan a civilian, resident around the Ojo Military Cantonment, Lagos who was unlawfully detained and allegedly tortured to death by the respondents.
Justice Buba also ordered the Nigerian Army to produce the body of Charles Hassan.
According to the judgement papers obtained by our Reporter, the deceased was arrested and detained at the Ojo Military Cantonment by some military personnel on September 28, 2016. Mr. Hassan was allegedly tortured until he died in custody.
Respondents in the matter according to the judgement includes the Nigerian Army, the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defense Staff and the Commandant 149 Battalion Ojo Military Cantonment, Ojo, Lagos State.
The deceased, who was aged 30, from Adamawa State was said to be a carpenter working within the barracks.
According to the family, upon receiving the information of his arrest, members of the family visited the Army authorities at 149 Battalion and enquired about Charles Hassan but was told he died in detention. “We were made to write statements on how we got to know Charles Hassan and was also promised proper autopsy which the family members were to witness” said a family member.
It was when it became clear that no communication will proceed from the Nigerian Army that the applicant through her Counsel, Messrs. Godfield & Spring, Solicitors, wrote to the Chief of Army Staff, with a copy to the Chief of Defense Staff and Commanding Officer, 149 Battalion demanding investigation to unravel the causes of death of Hassan who was in the custody of the Army. But till date, no response was received from the Army authorities.
In a counter affidavit deposed before the court, the respondents claimed that the deceased on 29th day of September,2016 at about 2 am was arrested bycivilians at the Mami market for stealing and breaking into shops . He was accused of making away with items worth millions of Naira.
It further stated that the Nigerian Military rescued Mr. Hassan Charles from the civilians to avoid jungle justice and kept him in protective custody. “Mr. Hassan Charles in the morning of 29th September, 2016 confessed that he habitually breaks into people’s shops and steal their belongings after the shop owners had closed for business” the Army also averred .
The military authorities also claimed that Hassan’s death was as a result of self-induced suicide. “On getting to the military station, while the officers were taking inventory of recovered items to hand Mr. Hassan over to the Nigerian police, he rushed and drank snipper(Insecticide), which was part of the items recovered from the shop, hence his sudden death”.
But in a landmark judgement, the court held that it was at a loss to what protective custody the Nigerian Army put the deceased that he committed suicide which the Army did not report to anybody and without a medical report as to the cause of death.
The court noted that in Nigeria even armed robbers and thieves cannot be killed by extra judicial means as it is against the law, noting that the court will not accede to the fanciful stories told by the Nigerian Army authorities. The court also cited the deposition of one Dankasa Gomnati a commissioned soldier and a cousin of the deceased.
The court held that the Nigerian Army and other respondents in the matter have failed woefully to give a convincing account of how the deceased was killed in their custody and in the circumstance, the only logical and irresistible conclusion is that he was murdered by the military. “Even their conduct after the hoax story that he committed suicide did not show any responsible conduct ; thereafter by taking the corpse to the relevant authority and ferrying the dead body of the deceased to the military hospital was like the death of a cockroach with shelltox. “This is very sad in the 21st century civilization” said the court.
The court therefore granted the three relief sought by the applicanst which include; (a) a declaration that the arrest, humiliation, harassment and detention of Mr. Charles Hassan , the applicant’s son by the agents of the respondents is wrongl, unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional and violation of the applicant’s son’s fundamental rights to life, dignity, liberty and right to freedom of movement as guaranteed by section 34, 35 and 42 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria and Articles 4,5 and 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap,A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
(b) An order directing the respondent to produce forthwith dead or alive, Mr. Hassan Charles who was arrested by the respondent and detained in a cell at the 149Battalion detention Camp, Ojo Military Cantonment, Lagos since 28 December 2016.
(c) Exemplary Damages in the sum of N100,000,000.00 (One hundred million naira) jointly against the respondents for false imprisonment , unlawful and unconstitutional arrest and detention of Mr. Hassan Charles and eventually, the violation of the right to life.
Lead counsel to the applicant , Ndubuisi Ogbonna , LF partners said that all letters to the Army authorities regarding the judgement and payment of the judgment debt, no release of the corpse as ordered by the judge were all rebuffed by the army authorities , as there was no response even when the letters were acknowledged.
