BREAKING NEWS: ‘Court fined police N100m for killing ‘free-Zakzaky’ protester’

The Federal High Court has ordered the Inspector General of Police and the Medical Director of Asokoro District Hospital to release the corpse of a ‘free-Zakzaky’ protester to his family for burial.

On May 22, 2023, when the judgement was delivered by Justice Z. B. Abubakar, the court equally declared as unlawful the arrest and killing of the protester, Ja’afar Muhammad, by the police.

These were contained in a statement by the Academic Forum of the Islamic Movement under the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.

The group stated that the late Muhammad was shot by the police during a peaceful protest at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, in July 2019 and died from the injuries after the police took him from the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital, where he was receiving treatment, to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad cell in Garki, where he was denied medical care.

“The court granted an order directing the Inspector-General of Police and the Medical Director of Asokoro District Hospital to release the corpse of Ja’afar Muhammad to his family for immediate burial in accordance with Islamic rites.

“The court also granted an order directing the Inspector-General of Police to pay the applicant the sum of N100,000,000 for the unlawful detention and killing of Ja’afar Muhammad,” the statement added.