According to a report by SaharaReporters, the family of Afolabi Abiola, a 27-year-old student of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree who was brutally murdered by the Police, has sued the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba and a police officer, Tobi Timileyin who allegedly shot the young man.
The family, through their counsel, Funmi Falana of Falana & Falana Chambers, has also slammed a N200 million suit against the respondents to demand compensation for the infringement of the fundamental rights of the deceased to dignity and life.
The suit, which is before the Osun State High Court was instituted by the mother of the deceased, Ebun Olaiya Afolabi, seeking certain reliefs over the violation of the deceased’s rights.
One of the reliefs include a declaration of the court that the humiliation and degrading treatment meted out to Abiola before he was killed by Timileyin is illegal and unconstitutional.
Also the family seeks an order of the court compelling the respondents to release the Lexus ES 330 Car and Iphone 7 phone seized from Abiola during the illegal raid.
The court document obtained by SaharaReporters reads, “A declaration that the humiliation and degrading treatment meted out on the deceased before he was killed by the 3rd Respondent is illegal, unconstitutional and a gross violation of his right to dignity of human person as guaranteed in Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 5 the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.
“A declaration that the extra judicial killing of Afolabi Abiola at Zone 10, Osogbo. Osun State on the 3rd of April, 2022 by the 3rd Respondent is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates the fundamental right of the deceased to life as guaranteed by Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended) and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.
“A declaration that the seizure of Lexus ES 330 Car and Iphone 7 phone belonging to the deceased by the Respondents constitutes a violation of the deceased rights guaranteed under Sections 44 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Articles 14 of the African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap. 10, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and it is therefore unconstitutional and illegal.
“An order of this Honourable Court directing the Respondents to jointly and severally pay the sum of N200, 000, 000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) to the Applicant as compensation for the infringement of the fundamental rights of the deceased to dignity and life guaranteed by section 34 and 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (As Amended) and article 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 2004.
“An order compelling the Respondents to release forthwith to the Applicant the Lexus ES 330 Car and Iphone 7 phone belonging to the deceased unlawfully seized and took over by the Respondents.
“And for such other order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the interest of justice.”
Afolabi, on April 3, 2022 visited his friend named Matthew, a phone repairer, at his shop that fateful day and decided later to spend the night at his house when tragedy struck.
At 12:30 am, a bunch of policemen from Housing Estate Division barged into the phone technician’s apartment and shot Afolabi in the leg without uttering a word.
The policemen thereafter arrested and detained Matthew and his fiancée after the incident.
Refusing to take the young polytechnic student to the hospital for urgent medical care or disclose what his offence was before they shot him, the policemen watched the 27-year-old bleed to death.
The Nigerian security agents thereafter moved his body to the morgue of Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital in Osogbo, the state capital, and abandoned it there for one week until the family found out about the killing from a stranger.
But in order to cover up the brutality, the police lied that Abiola was an armed robber, who was killed during a gun battle with officers.
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