Enugu Court Fines Police Commissioner, Other N20Million Over Suspect’s Disappearance From Custody, Orders Production Of Missing Suspect, Dead Or Alive
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The judge ruled that Chika Chukwu Onwe was murdered in police custody without trial or due process.
Enugu State High Court has imposed a hefty fine of N20 million on Commissioner of Police Kanayo Uzuegbu and Deputy Superintendent of Police Chidobe Ekeleme for violating the right to life of Chika Chukwu Onwe, who went missing in police custody.
Justice C.O. Ajah, who delivered the judgment, emphasized that the state police command’s actions were unacceptable.
The judge ruled that Chika Chukwu Onwe was murdered in police custody without trial or due process.
Onwe and Izuchukwu Ani were arrested in 2019 in Agbani, Enugu State, following a cult clash. They were detained at the Anti-Cult Police Post and denied bail, despite no formal charges.
It was reported that throughout their detention, neither Onwe nor Ani was presented in court for trial nor were they allowed to see their families.
Chukwunonso Ogbe, lawyer representing Onwe said that Onwe’s mother, Confidence Nkechi, and uncle, Anayo Ume, made several attempts to ascertain their son’s whereabouts but were resisted by the police.
The Guardian quoted Ogbe as saying, “They were continually rebuffed by the police.”
In a bid to seek justice, they escalated the matter to the state’s Police Brutality and Extra-Judicial Killing Unit, but the findings of the panel remained undisclosed.
The judge in her ruling said that Onwe’s disappearance after his arrest constituted a violation of his right to life, as guaranteed by Section 33(1) of the constitution.
Justice Ajah also ordered the police to locate the missing suspect, whether dead or alive, without further delay.
The judge further instructed the police to issue a written apology to Onwe’s mother and to publish the apology in two national newspapers for infringing on the suspect’s right to life.
