Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, and five other individuals were given ₦900 million in damages by a Federal High Court in Kaduna for their roles in the unlawful incarceration of Adara elders in 2019.
Awemi Dio Maisamari and eight other Southern Kaduna Adara elders filed the lawsuit, and Justice Hauwa’u Buhari gave the decision on Tuesday.
Since the court found that El-Rufai personally planned their arbitrary arrest, he is responsible for paying the ₦900 million settlement.
The Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police of Kaduna State were also given ₦10 million in general damages and ₦10 million in special damages by the court in addition to the compensation.
Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, the applicants’ attorney, hailed the decision as a major win in the continuous fight against power abuse. She referred to the ruling as a landmark ruling, highlighting the fact that it makes powerful people accountable even in cases where they are immune.
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“Whether or not the office holders are temporarily protected by immunity, this ruling represents a turning point against the misuse of authority and accountability for abuse,” Ballason said. Executive lawlessness is not justified, even in cases where those in positions of power are immune.
The former governor was designated as the first respondent in his individual capacity, and the complaint was filed after El-Rufai’s term as governor.
After Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima, the supreme ruler of the Adara people, was murdered in 2019, the applicants were taken into custody.
According to reports at the time, El-Rufai had issued an order for Maisamari and other community leaders to be arrested because they were deemed security concerns in Kajuru. A former police commissioner and former commissioner Bawa Magaji were among those arrested.
However, the Attorney General found no evidence against the arrested persons, and they were later released.
