Police to Pay N.3 Million to Victim of Unlawful Arrest

Peter Okutu

13 May 2011

Abakaliki — EBONYI State High Court, yesterday, ordered two constables, Uchenna Onwe, Obinna Igwe and an Inspector, Alex Elekwachi, of the State Police Command to pay N320,000 as damages to one Mr. Samuel Egbunne, a landlord, for their role in his unlawful arrest, assault and detention in Abakaliki.

The unlawful arrest of the plaintiff was consequent upon a fight that had ensued between one Chibuzor and Ngozi Dimgba, his tenants, which later involved one Ogechi Okoro, according to an eyewitness account.

Chibuzor and Ngozi were said to have engaged themselves in a physical combat before Ogechi, friend of Ngozi joined in the fight against Chibuzor.

Vanguard gathered that the incident which took place in the absence of the landlord, who was in the hospital where his wife was getting ready to put to bed, later culminated into the molestation and unlawful arrest of the landlord by the three policemen on his return from the hospital oblivious of what had happened in his absence.

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