By EHIGIMETOR IGBAUGBA

A Federal High Court in Calabar has awarded N100 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force and other respondents over the torture and killing of a 22-year-old man, Onyekachi Mba.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu delivered the judgment on Thursday in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the applicant and deceased’s mother, Mrs Victoria Mba, through her counsel, Chief Roland Ndubuka.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suit was filed on Oct. 10, 2025.

It sought the enforcement of the deceased’s fundamental rights as guaranteed under Sections 35, 36, 37 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

It includes the rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person and freedom of movement.

The applicant also asked the court to determine whether the torture, inhuman treatment and eventual killing of Mba violated his constitutionally guaranteed rights and to award appropriate compensation for the alleged breach.

In her judgment, Ojukwu held that the torture, assault and killing of Mba by a police personnel attached to the residence of Cross River State Governor, Bassey Out, on Aug. 1, 2025, was unlawful, unwarranted and constituted a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights.

The court described the actions of the officers as an “abuse of power and executive recklessness”.

Justice Ojukwu consequently awarded N100 million in damages against the respondents, ruling that the amount could be paid jointly or severally.

NAN reports that the respondents in the suit were the Nigeria Police Force, ASP Victor Edet, the Police Service Commission, and the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State.

Also in the suit, was the SP Emmanuel Dickson, the Chief Security Officer at the Cross River State Government House in Calabar.

NAN further reports that Mba was allegedly beaten and shot by police security personnel at the Government House on Aug. 1, 2025.

He later died at the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, Calabar, from injuries sustained during the assault and shooting. (NAN)

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