Adamu Muhammed & Ors. V. Inspector General Of Police & Ors. (2017)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

(DELIVERED BY JIMI OLUKAYODE BADA, J.C.A)

This is an appeal against the Ruling of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in Suit No:- FCT/HC/M/827/2007 delivered on 10th day of May, 2007.

Briefly the facts of the case are that the Appellants filed an application for leave to enforce their Fundamental Rights and after obtaining leave, filed a motion on notice in which they sought for the following reliefs:-

“(a) A declaration that the arrest and detention of the Applicants on or about the 10th day of April 2006 is unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional.

(b) A declaration that the continued detention of the Applicants by the Respondents at F.C.I.D. Cell Area 10, Abuja from the time of their arrest a period of about 8 months without trial is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null and void.

(c) An order releasing the Applicants from unlawful detention forthwith.

(d) N500,000.00 damages for unlawful detention.

At the conclusion of hearing, the learned trial Judge in its Ruling refused all the Applicant’s prayers.

The Appellants dissatisfied with the said Ruling now appealed to this Court.

The learned Counsel for the Appellants formulated a lone issue for determination as follows:-

“Whether the learned trial Judge was right to refuse to award damages in favour of the Appellants having found out that their detention by the Respondents without trial for a period of almost one year is unconstitutional and unlawful.”

At the hearing, the learned Counsel for the Appellants referred to the Appellant’s Brief of Argument filed on 22/10/08. He adopted and relied on the said Brief of Argument in urging the Court to allow the appeal.

On 6/10/09 this Court granted leave to the Appellants to enable the Court determine this appeal on the strength of the Appellants1 Brief of Argument alone, the Respondents having failed to file their Brief of Argument.

The Respondents even though served with the Appellant’s Brief of Argument and hearing notices that this appeal was to come up on 11/2/2010, failed to appear in Court.