BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
The federal high court in Osogbo, the Osun capital, has awarded a sum of N5 million to Adetola Halima Abdulazeez, a woman assaulted by two police officers in the state during the lockdown last year.
The former police officers, in a video that went viral on social media platforms, were seen trying to enforce the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020, when they assaulted her.
According to Abdulazeez, she was on her way to the pharmacy to purchase medicine for her daughter who had a severe ear infection, when the officers accosted and beat her up.
The police force dismissed the officers — identified as Ikuesan Taiwo and Abass Ibrahim — and said they would be arraigned in court over the incident.
Abdulazeez, thereafter, filed a fundamental human rights suit against the police through Pelumi Olajengbesi, a lawyer.
In a judgement on Monday, Ayo Emmanuel, the judge handling the case, held that the actions of the officers were an infringement on the rights of Abdulazeez.
The judge added that the police must respect the fundamental rights of citizens.
Earlier, during the proceeding, F.B. Osei, counsel to Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police (IGP), argued that the police chief could not be held liable for the “acts and omission of its officers.”
The matter was eventually resolved in the favour of Abdulazeez.
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