Court awards N100m damages against Police over death of 22-year-old in Calabar | Vanguard (NG)

A Federal High Court in Calabar has ordered the Nigeria Police Force and four other respondents to pay N100 million in damages over the death of 22-year-old Onyekachi Mba. Mba died after an incident involving police officers attached to the Cross River State Government House. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu delivered the judgment on Thursday in a fundamental rights enforcement suit initiated on October 10, 2025, by the deceased's counsel, Chief Roland Nbubuka.

The court determined that the police officers' actions leading to Mba's death constituted a violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights. These rights include dignity, personal liberty, and life, as protected under Sections 35, 36, 37, and 41 of the 1999 Constitution. The suit had sought declarations that Mba was subjected to unlawful treatment inconsistent with his fundamental rights and requested compensation for these alleged violations under Section 46 of the Constitution.

In her ruling, Justice Ojukwu stated that the assault and fatal injuries Mba sustained during the incident at the Government House on August 1, 2025, amounted to an unlawful infringement of his fundamental rights. Consequently, the court awarded N100 million in damages against the respondents, stipulating that the sum could be paid jointly or severally. The respondents named in the lawsuit include the Nigeria Police Force, ASP Victor Edet, the Police Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police for Cross River State, and SP Emmanuel Dickson, the Chief Security Officer of the Government House in Calabar.

Court records indicate that Mba suffered severe injuries during the August 1, 2025, incident and subsequently passed away at the Naval Reference Hospital in Calabar.