A Federal High Court in Abuja has awarded N200 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force over the unlawful killing of Mallam Kabiru Babai, a truck driver, Islamic cleric and philanthropist.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu held that Babai’s widow had successfully proved her case through affidavit evidence, declaring that the deceased’s constitutional right to life was unlawfully violated.
“The fundamental right to life of the applicant’s husband was unlawfully violated by the conduct of the 4th respondent,” the judge ruled.
Justice Lifu said the constitutional breach entitled the applicant to compensatory damages, noting that the devastating impact of the killing on Babai’s widow and children could not be ignored.
“The gravity of the violation and its devastating consequences on the widow and children must be taken into account,” he said.
The court declared Babai’s killing unlawful and ordered the Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Osun State to commence the prosecution of Sgt. Moses Samuel, the officer accused of carrying out the fatal shooting.
Justice Lifu also awarded N200 million against the 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents as compensation and exemplary damages.
However, the court declined the request seeking an order compelling the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute criminal proceedings against the police officer.
Babai was allegedly killed on December 3, 2021, at Ota-Efun, Osogbo, Osun State, after the truck he was traveling in developed a mechanical fault.
According to court records, Babai was repairing the vehicle underneath when police officers arrived and became involved in an argument with the truck driver. During the confrontation, one officer allegedly shot the co-driver, Harisu Musa, in the hand.
The deceased reportedly emerged from beneath the truck to question the shooting, after which police officers allegedly assaulted him. Court documents stated that Babai was hit with a shovel, repeatedly kicked, struck with the butt of a rifle by Sgt. Samuel and then shot in the chest.
“The bullet penetrated his heart, and he died on the spot,” the court heard.
The officers allegedly fled the scene, but bystanders apprehended one of them and took him, along with Babai’s body, to the Osun State Police Command.
Babai’s remains were later transferred to the morgue at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital in Osogbo before being taken to Bauchi State for burial.
Although police investigations reportedly indicted Sgt. Samuel for murder, he was never prosecuted, and Babai’s family received no support.
The fundamental rights suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1292/2022, was filed on August 3, 2022, by lawyer Okpi Adaafu on behalf of Babai’s widow, Balkisu Kabiru-Babai.
The respondents in the suit were the Police Service Commission, the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, Sgt. Moses Samuel and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The applicant sought declarations that Babai’s killing violated his constitutional right to life, an order compelling Samuel’s prosecution and N2 billion in compensation and exemplary damages.
During the proceedings, the Attorney-General of the Federation challenged the court’s jurisdiction and argued that the Federal High Court in Abuja was not the proper venue for the case, maintaining that the police remained the appropriate authority to prosecute the officer.
Adaafu opposed the objection, arguing that the AGF relied on the wrong procedural rules and citing Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the Attorney-General to institute criminal proceedings.
The Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, also argued they should not be held liable because the alleged actions fell outside Samuel’s official duties.
Adaafu, however, maintained that the officer acted in the course of official duty alongside other police personnel, making the police authorities liable for the unlawful killing.
