Court orders police to pay N15m compensation for killing of three Shi’ites

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay N15 million as compensation for the killing of three members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ites.

The court, presided over by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, also ordered the management of the National Hospital, Abuja to immediately release the three corpses in its morgue.

Justice Taiwo, in the judgment delivered on Monday, granted reliefs A and C of the applicants, ordering the police to pay each of the applicants N5 million as compensation for the killings.

Justice Taiwo however declined the prayer of the applicants asking the police to tender an apology in two national newspapers.

Read also: El-Zakzaky’s continued detention an invitation to anarchy – Shi’ites

In the suit filed by Ibrahim Abdullahi, Ahmad Musa, Yusuf Faska and Said Haruna respectively, said to be brothers to the deceased IMN members, the Inspector General of Police was named as the 1st respondent while the medical directors of National Hospital, Abuja, and Asokoro District Hospital are both 2nd and 3rd respondents in the four separate charges.

Suleiman Shehu, Mahdi Musa, Bilyaminu Abubakar Faska and Askari Hassan were alleged to have been killed by police on July 22, 2019 while on a peaceful protest to demand for the freedom of their Islamic leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

The bodies of Suleiman Shehu, Mahdi Musa and Bilyaminu Abubakar Faska were alleged to have been deposited at National Hospital, Abuja, while the body of Askari Hassan was said to have been kept in Asokoro District Hospital.

The NPF was however said to have failed to make any appearance or sent a legal representation during the court proceedings.

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