A man, identified as Mr. Sunday Olaniran Ayodeji, tortured and shot in the leg by a police officer in Kaduna has been awarded a sum of N60m by ECOWAS Court sitting in Abuja.
The victim, Ayodeji, whose leg was amputated as a result of the gunshot wound also had his possessions including a car and N900,000 unlawfully confiscated by the police at the time of the harassment.
Avocats Sans Frontieres France (Lawyers without Borders France) under the European Union(EU) and Agence française de Développement (AFD) funded SAFE Project had dragged the federal government to the court seeking compensation for the victim.
The ECOWAS Court in its judgement delivered on July 10, 2023 noted that the Nigerian government should be held responsible for the torture and therefore awarded N60m to the victim as compensation.
The court also ordered that the victim whose case was treated as a Pro Bono should be given back his confiscated possessions immediately.
Speaking to newsmen, Nigeria’s country director of ASF France, Mrs Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, said, “We are delighted that despite all challenges and legal hurdles faced by our legal team in pursuit of justice in this case, justice was served. We are optimistic that this will serve as a deterrent against the systemic use of torture in Nigeria.
The amount awarded by the court will not restore our client who has been permanently disabled by torture, but it has given hope to not just Mr. Ayodeji but other torture survivors that justice is possible even against powerful governments and institutions.”
Avocats Sans Frontieres (ASF) France, also began a two-day training for 30 members of the National Committee Against Torture (NCAT) on the legal framework on torture and effective implementation of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017.
On Sept.11, 2022, the Federal Government had inaugurated NCAT with the aim to eliminate torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
The country director also mentioned during the opening ceremony that participants were drawn from law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), among others.
NCAT was set up by the former Attorney-General of the federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, as one of his commitments to torture prevention in the country.
According to Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, the essence of the training was to provide capacity support to NCAT to enable it perform its function efficiently in terms of torture prevention in the country.
Follow us for more stories…
Author
