The Federal High Court in Lagos has awarded ₦10 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for violating the fundamental rights of #EndSARS protesters.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Kakaki held that the police infringed upon the rights of peaceful demonstrators who had assembled at the Lekki Tollgate on 20 October 2024 to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests.
It will be recalled that officers from the Lagos State Police Command arrested no fewer than 20 individuals at the tollgate, detaining them for several hours in a police van before releasing them without charge.
The applicants—22 individuals, along with three civic organisations: the Education Rights Campaign, the Take It Back Movement, and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights—filed a suit seeking redress for what they termed unlawful arrest and a breach of their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The case was brought as a fundamental rights enforcement action, with the court ultimately siding with the applicants and condemning the actions of the police.