Funke Busari
The last may not have been heard concerning a judgement of a High Court sitting in Ibadan the Oyo State capital over a fundamental human rights enforcement suit against a former Divisional Police Officer, DPO, CSP Alex Gwazah.
A tailor, Lukman Adeniyi claimed that the DPO assaulted and detained him over a business transaction.
The Applicant was engaged by the Police Officer to sew some clothes for him, but not satisfied with the job done, the DPO slapped, detained and charged him to Court for alleged malicious damage and proceeded to threaten the Applicant, vowing that not even the Inspector General of Police could stop him from carrying out his mission against the Appllicant.
The criminal matter against the tailor was however struck out by a Magistrate Court for lack of diligent prosecution.
In a swift reaction, the Applicant through his lawyer, Mohammed Jubril proceeded to a High Court to seek the enforcement of his rights.
Delivering the judgement, Justice Rachael Boyede Akintola agreed that indeed the former DPO actually violated the rights of the Applicant and ruled in his favour accordingly.
Although she struck out the name of the Oyo State Commissioner of Police from the matter, she however restrained the Police from further harassing the Applicant.
The Applicant is however not happy with the N150,000 damages and cost awarded against the former DPO and has informed his lawyer accordingly.
For now the lawyer is awaiting for the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the judgement before proceeding to the next line of action.
Speaking with casefileng.com, Barrister Jubril said his client only has issues with the third leg of the judgement which relate to the damages and costs but is however happy with other reliefs granted by the Court.
Trouble stated for the DPO when he gave 12 clothing materials to the tailor to sew at the rate of N60,000.
He claimed that the tailor was recommended to him by some ‘Big men’ in Ibadan and he also confirmed that he is a very good tailor, but his grouse against the tailor was that the he gave his clothes to the apprentice to sew, vowing that it amount to an act of malicious damage and threatened to jail him.
Investigation showed that he actually moved to actualise his threat as he repeatedly slapped the tailor in his office and subsequently detained him before filing a charge against the tailor at a Magistrate court.
As a result of the uproar generated by the case, he was removed from his duty post and transferred to the ‘Quick Intervention Unit’ as the Head.
