A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the Nigerian Police to pay the sum of N2m each to seven suspected Boko Haram suspects for their unlawful detention for three years.
The court also ordered the police to pay additional N1m to the applicants for cost of litigation.
The police had arrested the suspects inside Maiduguri market and were detained at the detention facility of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of Police at Abbatoir in Abuja without trial.
The suspects are Ajiri Bulama Dungus, Gudja Giddah, Adam Mohammed, Wardi Dungus, Fanami Mustapha, Mohammed Abba and Makinka Alhaji Dungus.
Counsel to the applicants, Mr Peter Aboh, praised the judge for ordering immediately release of his clients.
He had argued that the applicants were unjustly labelled as Boko Haram suspects by police to justify the unlawful detention.
The lawyer said that an Abuja based Non Governmental Organization, NGO, Dayspring Life Foundation, stumbled on them while in detention and took over the sponsorship of the litigation free of charge to rescue them from the unlawful detention.
Justice M.O. Olajuwon in a judgment on their fundermental human rights enforcement suit agreed with the counsel that their detention was unlawful, illegal.
He held that their detention for three years without trial contravened the provisions of the 1999 constitution on human rights.
The judge said that the police acted in bad faith in keeping the suspects beyond the period required by law especially when there was no cogent and verifiable ground of indictment of the applicants for any offence.
Justice Olajuwon while holding that the detention was illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional, consequently ordered that the seven applicants be released forthwith to their families.
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