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Court orders police to pay N50m to family of slain musician

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Court orders police to pay N50m to family of slain musician

The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Friday ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay N50 million as compensation to the family of Daniel Chibuike-Ikeagwuchi, popularly called Sleek.

Chibuike-Ikeagwuchi was killed by a team of policemen around Eleme, Eleme Local Government Area of the state, on September 19, 2020 resulting in protests.

The victim’s family had dragged the police; Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Adamu; the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan; and two others to court in a suit it filed to enforce the fundamental human rights of the deceased.

The family had prayed the court to declare the killing of their son unlawful and to award N1bn as compensation.

Read also: ‘Policemen beat me till I peed on my body,’ #EndSARS protester tells Lagos panel

The defendants however failed to appear in court and did not file responses in two sittings.

They were said to have appeared in court on the last-adjourned date of November 23 when they presented a counter affidavit that was rejected by the court.

While ruling on Friday, the trial judge, Justice, S.C. Amadi, granted the four prayers of the claimant and declared that the gruesome murder of Sleek contravened the constitution of Nigeria.

According to Justice Amadi, the failure of the police to arraign the officers who killed Sleek was illegal and awarded N50 million against the defendants.

The lawyer to Sleek’s family, Noble Njoku, described the judgment as justice well-served, adding that it would serve as deterrent to men of Nigerian security forces who use human being as “point and kill.”

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