Extrajudicial Killing: Police Unwilling to Pay Damages, Ignore Court Order
Mr Tope Temokun, a Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, has said on Tuesday that he would sue the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, for contempt of court in the case of the police killing his client.
He said he would sue the IGP for noncompliance with a court judgment, which awarded N7.9 million as damages against the Nigeria Police Force for the extrajudicial killing of one Christopher Akarewan by the police in 2011 in Okitipupa, Ondo State.
Temokun, who was counsel for the deceased’s wife, Queen Akarewan, made this disclosure while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Akure.
The lawyer said that judgment was delivered on the case by Justice Abdul Dogo of the Federal High Court sitting in Akure on November 26, 2018.
The lawyer said the judge ordered the police to pay the sum of N7.9m within 30 days from the day of judgment to the plaintiff, Queen Akarewan, for the unlawful killing of her husband.
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“We perceive a deliberate unwillingness on the part of the police authorities to comply with the judgment and feel, therefore, that if this judgment is not complied with now, we are then left with no option than to return to court for the lawful execution of the judgment.
“Since October 13, 2011, that the plaintiff’s husband, Christopher Akarewan, was shot dead by the police officers for refusing to part with N50 bribe demanded at a checkpoint in Okitipupa, Ondo State, the family has been bereaved of their breadwinner.
“The widow and her four children and the aged mother of the deceased have suffered untold hardship and the children have dropped out of school, one after the other.
“It is against this background that we have no option than to resort to the lawful execution of the judgment.
“This includes the commencement of contempt proceedings as mandatory order of the court for the defendants to pay the judgment sum within 30 days, which failure to obey such order would amount to contempt of court,” he said.
Temokun added that he had made several efforts to ensure that the police authorities paid the said damages but there had been no response so far.
(NAN)
