Court awards N12m damages against police for abduction of Nigerian journalist

A Federal Capital Territory High Court, presided over by Justice Bello Kawu, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay N12 million (twelve million naira) in damages for the abduction and unlawful detention of Kasarahchi Aniagolu, a journalist with the online newspaper, The Whistler.

In a statement issued by the newspaper on Friday, Ms Aniagolu was arrested, assaulted and detained for eight hours by the Nigeria Police Force on February 21, 2024, in Abuja.

She was arrested at a location in Wuse Zone 4, where police operatives allegedly carried out a covert operation against operators of illegal bureau de change businesses.

The reporter subsequently filed a suit on October 25, 2024, against the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force, seeking N100 million (one hundred million naira) in damages.

In her statement of claim, she alleged that the police abducted her and breached her privacy by seizing her phone and deleting the pictures stored on it.

She also accused the police of subjecting her to inhuman treatment while in detention, thereby infringing on her fundamental rights. The suit was filed on her behalf by the legal firm of Adekunle Kosoko, Esq., of Seasons Law Firm, Abuja.

In a judgment delivered on July 29, 2026, the court declared that the police “subjected the Applicant to inhuman and degrading treatment in contravention of Section 34(1)(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

The court also ruled that the “abduction of the Applicant by officers of the Respondents and the subsequent detention of the Applicant at the Respondents’ station in Guzape District of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, infringed on the Applicant’s right to personal liberty, in contravention of Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

Justice Kawu subsequently ordered the police to pay the reporter the sum of N10 million (ten million naira) as damages for the infringement of her fundamental rights.

The presiding judge also ordered the police to pay the reporter the sum of N2 million (two million naira) to cover the cost of litigation.

DAILY POST reports that the police have yet to respond to the judgment as of the time of filing this report.