A Federal High Court in Kaduna has awarded N900 million in damages against former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and five others over the arrest and prolonged detention of nine Adara community elders in 2019.
Justice Hauwa’u Buhari, who delivered the judgement on Tuesday, ruled in favour of the plaintiffs — Awemi Dio Maisamari and eight other elders from Southern Kaduna’s Adara ethnic group — who had sued for the violation of their fundamental human rights.
The court held that the arrests, which followed the killing of their traditional ruler, Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima, were unlawful and arbitrary.
The judge rejected the preliminary objections raised by the defendants, who had argued that the case was one of tort and therefore outside the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Buhari dismissed the objections as lacking merit and proceeded to enter judgement in the applicants’ favour.
The court awarded the sum of N900 million in total damages. El-Rufai, who was sued in his personal capacity, was found liable for personally ordering the arrests. Additionally, the Nigerian Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State were each ordered to pay N10 million in both general and special damages.
The applicants were arrested during a town hall meeting convened by El-Rufai in 2019 following the abduction and murder of the Adara monarch. At the meeting, El-Rufai reportedly directed security forces to arrest Maisamari, then president of the Adara Development Association, branding him a “security threat” in Kajuru.
The detainees, including a former commissioner and a retired police commissioner, were held for several months before being released after the Attorney General advised that there was no evidence to support their continued incarceration.
Reacting to the verdict, the applicants’ lead counsel, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason Esq., who appeared alongside S.A. Alkali Esq. and J.N. Buzun Esq., welcomed the court’s decision.
“This judgement is a watershed moment in the fight against executive lawlessness and the abuse of fundamental human rights. The case was filed after El-Rufai left office, which is why he was sued in his personal capacity,” Ballason stated.
