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Court Orders SARS to Pay Businessman N5m for Unlawful Arrest, Torture

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A High Court in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State has ordered officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and an officer of the Nigerian Police Force to pay the sum of N5million as compensation to Ugochukwu Oraefo for extortion, illegal arrest, unlawful detention and torture.

Oraefo, an Onitsha-based businessman, was in 2018 arrested at his factory by men of the squad and taken to their office at Awkuzu, where he was unlawfully detained, subjected to excruciating torture and criminally extorted the sum of N6milion as ransom.

The officers had accused Oraefo of working with kidnappers, and having also paid some money to kidnappers, without alerting the police. But the victim rather confessed that he paid ransom to kidnappers who had called and threatened to kidnap him, and also warning him not to disclose it to the police.

The victim, who spoke to journalists upon his release, had said he was kept in detention and tortured for five days, after which a mock execution was carried out on him, with the threat that he would also pay them to secure his freedom.

This Day, Tuesday 26, March

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