A Lagos High Court, Igbosere on Monday ruled that the office of the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, was liable for the illegal detention of a trader, Isiaka Mohammed, by the police in January 2012.
Justice Adeniyi Adebajo was delivering judgment on a fundamental human rights enforcement suit, which was instituted by Mohammed, a foodstuff seller at Iddo market in Lagos.
Men of the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja had on January 27, 2012, arrested and detained Mohammed for the purpose of recovering a debt he allegedly owed one Mallam Bashiru.
The policemen allegedly tortured him in detention, forcing him to pay N100,000 as part of the debt and yet refused to release him even after a suit was filed seeking his release and damages against the AG and the police.
Adebajo, in a judgment, held that the office of the Attorney-General could not feign ignorance of the illegal arrest and detention, having been served with the processes of the suit instituted by Mohammed to enforce his fundamental human rights.
The judge also held that the police had no business recovering debt, the purpose for which the applicant was arrested and subsequently detained.
"The first defendant (the Attorney-General) is liable," the judge said.
Other defendants in the suit, apart from the AG, are the Lagos State Commissioner for Police, and two other officials of the Lagos State Command, Anti-Robbery Department.
The judge said, "It is not the duty of the police to arrest or detain persons in such civil transactions."
He said the silence maintained by the police by not responding to the suit having been served with the processes was "not golden".
He held that contrary to the argument by the Attorney-General, the suit was competent.
He subsequently asked parties to return to court on July 8 to address him on the prayer of the applicant seeking an award of damages against the AG and other respondents in the suit.
The AG had asked the court to exonerate his office as the case file was not forwarded to his office, and no charge was filed against the applicant in any court.
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