Court awards widow of slain truck driver N200m over police killing

A Federal High Court in Abuja has awarded 200 million Nigerian naira (approximately $130,000 USD) in damages to the widow of a truck driver, Kabiru Babai, who was unlawfully killed by a police sergeant in Osun State in 2021. Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the fatal shooting violated Babai's fundamental right to life.

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The fatal shooting of Babai by Sergeant Moses Samuel violated his fundamental right to life guaranteed under Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The court also directed the Inspector-General of Police and the Osun State Commissioner of Police to initiate the prosecution of Sergeant Moses Samuel, who committed the killing. Balkisu, Babai's widow, had filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit seeking a declaration that her husband's death was unlawful, prosecution of the officer, and 2 billion naira in compensation.

Court documents indicate that Babai was repairing his broken-down truck when police officers arrived. After one officer shot the co-driver, Babai emerged from beneath the truck to question the incident. He was then allegedly beaten with a shovel, struck with a rifle butt, and shot in the chest by Sergeant Samuel, dying at the scene. The court found that the deceased's constitutional right to life was unlawfully violated.

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Babai reportedly came out from beneath the truck to question the shooting but was allegedly beaten with a shovel, struck with the butt of a rifle and shot in the chest by Sergeant Samuel.

While the court awarded damages against the IGP, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, and Sergeant Samuel, it declined the request to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute criminal proceedings against the sergeant. The lawsuit followed claims that Sergeant Samuel had not faced prosecution despite being indicted by police authorities after the incident.

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The court consequently declared the killing unconstitutional and awarded N200m as compensatory and exemplary damages against the IGP, the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, and Sergeant Samuel for the unlawful killing and the trauma suffered by the deceased’s family.