Torture: Family of late Okubo drags Police, pharmaceutical firm to court,seeks N800m as damages
The family of late Omokhinyeme Okubo, from Okarki community in Rivers State, who allegedly died at a police station on the Ejinrin Road, Ketu, Lagos State, has filed a case at the Federal High Court, Lagos, for enforcement of fundamental human rights.
The deceased father, Aboye Okubo and Michael Okubo are the first and second applicants while the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police (Lagos State), CSP Monday Awosinu, EXUS Pharmaceutical Ltd and Manager Osakwe are the first to fifth respondents, respectively, in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/68/24.
Late Omokhinyeme, a 36-year-old Microbiology graduate of the University of Port Harcourt and father of a son, reportedly died in July 2023 in the police cell at Ketu where he was detained.
His father, Okubo, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, resides at Yenizue-Epie in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
The family had claimed that Omokhinyeme was allegedly tortured to death at the police station where he was taken to by his employers, EXUS Pharmaceutical Ltd with head office at Opposite General Hospital, off Ketu-Ejinrin Road, Ketu-Epe, Lagos, over an allegation bordering on financial issues arising from the proceeds of his sales as its representative in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The applicants are praying the court to declare that the forceful and unwarranted detention of Omokhinyeme by the police based on the prompting of the pharmaceutical firm without an order of a court, and his death in their hands amounted to a gross violation of his right to life as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
They are praying the court to declare that the arrest and detention of Omokhinyeme over a malicious allegation of an act that did not amount to a capital offence, and for which the respondents neither charged him to court nor the police grant him bail amounted to a violation of his right to human dignity, personal liberty and fair hearing under the law.
They are also seeking the relief that “the deceased arrest, detention, torture, deprivation of food up to the point of his death on 20th July 2023 over an allegation of a civil matter of debt already secured by a guarantee bond” were unlawful and a violation of the due process of law and fair hearing.
The applicants are further seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, their agents, privies, men and operatives of the first respondent and anybody whatsoever in their authority from further arresting, harassing, intimidating and/or persecuting them and/or their relatives by infringing on their guaranteed rights.
They are also seeking an order for exemplary and punitive damages of N800 million payable to the applicants by the fourth and fifth respondents for the unlawful detention, torture and deprivation of life of late Omokhinyeme which had occasioned diminished quality of life on the applicants.
They are further requesting an order of the court compelling the third respondent to hand over to the applicants all the things collected from the late Omokhinyeme before he was detained at the third respondent’s police station at Ketu-Epe in July 2023.
