Tobias Sylvester
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to pay a human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, the sum of N2 million for breach of his fundamental rights.
Sowore had filed a suit before Justice Anwuli Chikere to compel the DSS to return his phones seized since August 2019 when he was first arrested.
The DSS had told Justice Chikere that the phones were “recovered” during his arrest and not seized, noting that the phones were still being checked for links to terrorism.
In her judgment on Wednesday, December 8, Justice Chiekere described the action of the secret police as illegal and a violation of the activist’s rights.
The judge also held that the suit by Sowore does not constitute an abuse of court processes as claimed by the respondent’s counsel.
She, therefore, ordered that the phones and money seized from Sowore in August 2019 should be returned to him and N2 million paid to him as damages.
Justice Chikere also ordered the DSS to publicly apologize to Sowore in two national dailies.
KayiDaily had reported how the DSS arrested Sowore on August 3, 2019, for calling on Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations to demand a better country from the government.
