Brutality: Police, GT Bank Lose Appeal As Court Awards Payment Of N20m To Journalist

The Nigerian Police Force and a new generation bank failed to upturn a judgment entered against them on alleged brutality of a journalist and publisher of FreshNEWS Online Media, Mr. Desmond Utomwen.

This followed the dismissal of their appeal against the 2012 judgment of Justice Peter Kekemeke of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which had found them guilty of violating the rights of the journalist as well as inhuman and degrading treatment, right to own moveable and immoveable property and subsequently slammed them a whopping sum of N100 million damages.

The Appeal Court on Tuesday, in a judgment delivered by Justice Godswill Amadi, affirmed the verdict of the lower court, adding that the appellants did not state anything in the appeal to dispute the facts on which the lower court based its judgment.

He, however, reduced the monetary compensation from N100 million to N20 million.

Utomwen, a former staff of TheNEWS Magazine had dragged the bank and the police to court over his molestation at the Area 3, Garki Abuja branch of GTB on 11th December, 2009.

The journalist had gone to the bank to cover a protest by some Nigerians over allegations that officials of GTBank were involved in fraudulent withdrawals of large amounts via the bank’s Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

However, policemen attached to the bank and bank officials had descended on him, beat him till he became unconscious and then seized his identity card, N2,000, camera, and digital recorder.

The journalist was subsequently detained at the Garki police station for several hours during which he was denied access to medical treatment.

The reporter consequently filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit in court, wherein judgment was given in his favour.

But the police and the bank had appealed the judgment asking the appellate court to set aside the decision of N100 million compensation entered against them.

Delivering judgment, the appellate court commended the lower court for a great job in evaluating the evidence and arriving at the correct findings and conclusion on the breach of the fundamental human rights of the first respondent (Desmond Utomwen) by the police at the behest and active instigation of the bank.

Utomwen’s lawyer Ugochukwu Ezekiel told journalists that the ruling was another strong warning to law enforcement agencies to desist from violating the human rights of Nigerians. Ugochukwu however said he may appeal the reduction of the N100 million awarded to the journalist by the FCT High Court to N20 by the Appeal Court.

Also, Utomwen, who is a co-founder of Centre Against Brutality and Safety of Journalists in Africa (CABSOJA) said the judgment of the Court of Appeal was another affirmation of the rights of journalists to do their work without being molested.