Court Orders Release Of Seven IPOB Supporters, Fined Police N130 Million

About seven of Nnamdi Kanu’s supporters and members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who were allegedly detained by security forces and held against their will in a number of detention facilities have won legal victories.

VerseNews reports that Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Kanu’s lawyer, stated that the court not only released the IPOB supporters but also granted them N130 million in damages against security agencies.

According to the lawyer, in the charge marked ‘FHC/ABJ/CR/475/2021, Justice M.O. Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja discharged Maria Ezediaro “of all frivolous criminal allegation/charge brought against her before the court.”

Ejiofor said, “She was arrested on February 26, 2021 when she visited the State CID, Owerri, Imo State Command to give food and medication to her friend who was detained there, and was subsequently transferred to the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team detention facility in ‘Abattoir’, Abuja, where she was subjected to all forms of inhuman treatment, severe torture and degradation.

“However, following the refusal of the police to release her or charge her to court, we filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit on her behalf before the Federal High Court Abuja.

“Still on our application, she was granted bail by the court on April 21, 2022 and consequently released to us upon perfection of the bail conditions.

On October 10, 2023, the Federal High Court of Abuja, presided over by Hon. Mr. Justice. Mrs. Maria Ezediaro was exonerated after Olajuwon dismissed the four terrorism-related charges brought against her.

“Also Justice V.S. Gaba of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja discharged the Pastor of the Holy Trinity Sabbath Church, Orlu Imo State, Cletus Nwachukwu Egole; his wife, Ifeyinwa Egole; a prophet of Jewish Faith, Michael Uba, Ugochukwu Samuel; and Raphael Idang. The court also granted them N100m compensatory damages against the police.”

They allegedly were detained, paraded, and then transferred to the IGP Intelligence Response Team detention facility in “Abattoir,” Abuja, on March 21, 2021 by the Imo State Command of the Nigerian Police.

“Justice Z.B. Abubakar of the Federal High Court in Abuja also ordered the release of Ngozichukwu Ada-Dav and awarded N30m compensatory damages in her favour,” he said.

“Ada-Dav was arrested in June 2021 by a team of fully-armed operatives of the Nigeria Police Force and thereafter taken to the IGP/IRT located in Ikeja GRA, where she was detained in unlawful custody till July 3, 2021, when she was transferred to the Garki Command of the Nigeria Police, notoriously known as the Abattoir.”