Oyerinde: Police challenge payment of N5m to activist
MAY 22, 2013
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and Late Olaitan Oyerinde
THE Nigeria Police have challenged the N5m damages the organisation was asked to pay a Benin-based activist, Rev. David Ugolor, for his arrest and detention.
The Court of Appeal, sitting in Benin, Edo State, had earlier upheld the ruling of an Edo High Court that the Nigeria Police, together with Inspector-General of Police and Attorney-General of the Federation, should pay N5m into an interest-yielding account in favour of Ugolor, pending the appeal over his arrest and detention.
The Force subsequently approached the Supreme Court, challenging the order of the Appeal Court.
Ugolor was arrested and detained over alleged complicity in the murder of the Principal Private Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Olaitan Oyerinde, who was killed in his Benin residence in May 2012.
Counsel for the appellants, Henry Michael-Ihunde, in suit no: CA/B/360/12/, and suit no: B/496M/2012, dated May 14, 2013, said his clients were dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal decision, granting conditional stay of execution of the judgment of the Edo State High Court.
The appellants said the Appeal Court erred in law in its ruling on the grounds that there was no counter-affidavit before it, disputing the averments in the motion sought by the police, IGP and the AGF.
He further averred that the Appeal Court ought to have granted a stay of execution of the said N5m without condition and ordered accelerated hearing of the appeal.
The Edo State High Court presided over by Justice Esther Edigin in 2012 awarded the sum of N5m as damages against the Nigerian Police Force, the IGP and AGF.
The Police and the AGF appealed the ruling, but the Appeal Court, headed by Justice Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, ordered the appellants to pay the money to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Appeal Court for remittance into an interest yielding account, pending the judgment on the matter.
Prior to the Appeal Court ruling, counsel for the IG, the Police and AGF, Michael-Ihunde, had sought a stay of execution of the decision of the lower court, without payment of the judgment money into an interest yielding account, which was faulted by Ugolor’s counsel, Olayiwola Afolabi, who described it as legal virus.
The court, thereafter, ruled that the money be paid into an interest-yielding account within 60 days of the judgment.
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