Court Awards N12m Damages Against Police for Abduction, Unlawful Detention of Journalist

Court Awards N12m Damages Against Police for Abduction, Unlawful Detention of Journalist

• Justice Bello Kawu rules that the police violated the reporter’s constitutional rights to dignity and personal liberty during a 2024 arrest in Abuja.

A Federal Capital Territory High Court, presided over by Justice Bello Kawu, has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay N12 million in damages for the abduction and unlawful detention of Kasarahchi Aniagolu, a reporter with THE WHISTLER Newspaper. Aniagolu was arrested, assaulted, and detained for eight hours by the Nigeria Police Force on February 21, 2024, in Abuja. She was arrested at a location in Wuse Zone 4 where police operatives allegedly came on a covert operation against operators of illegal bureau de change.

According to reports from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Aniagolu was on a separate reporting assignment when she encountered the police raid and approached an officer, showing her press identification, to request a formal interview. The officer declined, and another nearby officer told Aniagolu to stop filming until the police were done, which she did. After about ten minutes, the officers began to leave, and Aniagolu again began to film and photograph the scene. A female officer noticed and approached Aniagolu, angrily asked who had given her permission to cover the incident, and slapped Aniagolu’s face; another officer hit her on the hand with their gun, and then the female officer dragged the journalist into a police van. On their way to the station, a male officer questioned Aniagolu’s sex, reportedly saying, “Are you sure this is a girl? The way she is holding tightly to her phone seems like it’s a man,” Aniagolu told CPJ. A female officer sitting close to Aniagolu then used her hand to press on the journalist’s chest to confirm her sex. The male officer then pointed his gun at the journalist and threatened to shoot her if she did not give him her phone, boasting that he would “get away with murder” if he killed her. After arriving at the station, two officers pushed the journalist onto her knees, held her hands, and used her face authentication to unlock her phone and delete pictures and videos of the raid. Officers then made her sit on the floor with around 60 men who were arrested during the raid.

READ ALSO:

• INEC Rejects Jonathan’s 2027 Presidential Nomination Submitted by PDP Faction
• Five days in Salvador, Brazil’s Yoruba city, By Farooq Kperogi
• Oyo Abduction: Obi Says He Would Have Entered Forest to Rescue Victims If He Were President

The reporter subsequently filed a suit on October 25, 2024, against the Inspector-General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force, demanding N100 million in damages. In her statement of claims, she said the police abducted her and breached her privacy by seizing her phone and deleting pictures in it. She also accused the police of subjecting her to inhuman treatment while in detention thereby infringing on her fundamental right. The suit was filed on her behalf by the legal firm of Adekunle Kosoko Esq. of Seasons Law Firm, Abuja.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, the court declared that the police “subjected the Applicant to inhuman and degrading treatment in contravention of Section 34(1)(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) .” The court also ruled that the “abduction of the applicant by officers of the Respondents and the subsequent detention of the Applicant at the Respondent’s station in Guzape District of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja infringed on the Applicant’s right to personal liberty, in contravention of sections 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) .” Justice Kawu subsequently ordered the Police to pay the reporter the sum of N10 million as damages for the infringement on her fundamental rights. The presiding judge also ordered the police to pay the reporter the sum of N2 million to cover the cost of litigation.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) had earlier condemned the incident, calling on President Bola Tinubu to sack or call to order Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun over the attack. The rights group described the aggression against Aniagolu as “absolutely intolerable, despicable, reprehensible, primitive and disappointing.” The ruling is expected to renew conversations around police conduct during operations and the protection of journalists in the line of duty. The case marks another significant legal victory for press freedom in Nigeria, reinforcing judicial protections for journalists covering sensitive matters. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had also documented the case, highlighting the dangers journalists face while carrying out their professional duties in Nigeria. As of the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Police Force had not responded to the judgment or indicated whether it intends to appeal the decision.

Court Awards N12m Damages Against Police for Abduction, Unlawful Detention of Journalist