A Delta State High Court sitting in Otor-Udu has ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu; the Officer in-Charge of the IGP Monitoring Unit, DCP Abba Kyari; and detective Reuben Noah, to pay three Delta State-based journalists the sum of N350,000 for their unlawful arrest and detention in Warri.
The affected journalists are Matthew Omonigho, Christopher Odamah and Onyekachukwu Meluwa of the Daily Post, Delta Trumpet and The PUNCH, respectively.
Justice Roli Harriman also directed the respondents to tender an apology to the applicants in three national dailies within 14 days.
A copy of the judgment, which was obtained by our correspondent in Warri on Thursday, stated that the three journalists had separately approached the court for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights through their counsel, Oghenejabor Ikimi, and sought N10m each as damages in suit numbers: OUHC/FHR/85/2020, OUHC/FHR/86/2020 and OUHC/FHR/87/2020.
The court, in its judgment stated that in the circumstances, it found that “the actions of the respondents were calculated and did breach the fundamental rights of the applicants, who are entitled to compensation.”