- A Federal High Court has ordered the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to pay N22 million to a private petroleum marketer
- The marketer was shot and detained in a toilet by NSCDC operatives in January 2015
- The court said the detention of Frank Oko was wrong and a violation of his fundamental human right
A Federal High Court in Calabar has ordered the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to pay N22 million to an independent petroleum marketer, Frank Oko, for illegal apprehension and confinement.
The court said the arrest and detention of Oko by operatives of the NSCDC in the state was wrongful, illegal, unconstitutional and a blatant violation of his fundamental human right.
While delivering his ruling, Justice I. E Ekwo said: "The arrest, detention, assault, battery, humiliation, and brutalisation of the applicant by the respondents is wrongful, illegal, unconstitutional, callous, inhuman, and blatant violation of his fundamental human rights.”
Ekwo ordered that the N22 million be paid as damages against the NSCDC for violating Oko's right and his medical bills after he was beaten and detained in a toilet.
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Speaking on the court's ruling, the applicant said he was apprehended and detained by the operatives on January 8, 2015.
He said: “On January 8, 2015, my truck loaded 30,000 litres of petroleum products (AGO) in Tonimas Oil Depot at Onne, Rivers State for delivery at Okuku, a suburb of Ogoja, and on entry into Ogoja, some corps personnel stopped the truck and demanded for the delivery note.
“The driver handed them the note and they saw “Ogoja” as destination of the truck but they went ahead and tagged the truck ‘diversion of petroleum products’ even as the truck was still within Ogoja.
"They asked the driver to park the truck at the Ogoja Council premises, but I was alerted and I got there, I told them that it was the month of January and fire is rampant and if the truck is parked in the council’s premises and there is fire incident, there would be no equipment to fight the fire. My statement infuriated the Civil Defence men and they began to attack me.
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"When I attempted to run away from their beatings, they shot me on the legs which sent me sprawling on the ground. Freed after extorting N100,000 bribe. Even at that, I was dragged to the council premises and assaulted the more. They compelled me to do frog jump and thereafter, detained me in the council’s toilet and asked me to give them the sum of N100,000 before I was released."
Oko also narrated how the corps personnel threatened officials at the Ogoja area command after the matter was reported to the police. He said the corps operatives urged the police to hands off the matter or face the consequences.
According to him, he had to approach a lawyer, Mba Okweni, who took over the matter on his behalf.
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NAIJ.com earlier reported that operatives of the NSCDC in Niger state intercepted eight trucks laden with 469,000 litres of fuel, on its way to Republic of Benin.
It was gathered that six of the intercepted trucks reportedly belong to one marketer, two others were found to contain 66,000 litres.
According to the NNPC, the development confirms its position that the fuel scarcity witnessed recently in some parts of the country is being caused by products hoarding and diversion.
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Source: Naija.ng