THE Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan on Thursday directed the police authorities to appear for defence in a suit filed by four-year-old David Olawale over the alleged unlawful killing of his father.
Justice J.E. Shakarho at the resumed hearing of the matter frowned at the refusal of the police to enter appearance in the case after being duly served. He subsequently gave the police till December 6 to enter appearance for defence.
Justice Shakarho had sought to know if the institution had been notified of the suit at all and the prosecutor, Tolu Ajayi showed the court proof of service on all parties within in which all the duplicates of court copies were duly signed by appropriate persons.
The judged also further inquired from a police prosecutor who came to the court for a different case, to be sure if he or the police authorities were aware of the matter. But he declined knowledge of it, prompting the judge to directly send him to his office and adjourn the case to December 6.
Little David had dragged the police to court over the alleged illegal killing of his father, Babalola Olawale, by one Sunmonu Ojediran, a police inspector attached to the Ogun State Crime Investigation Division (CID), on June 1, 2010.
The deceased was allegedly shot dead by the police inspector after an argument between him and the police team which came to Ibadan on the fateful day to arrest him in connection with a robbery case in which he was said to be accused of receiving stolen vehicles from suspected armed robbers.
Also joined in the suit are the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioners of Police in charge of Oyo and Ogun state commands.
David, who is the only surviving child of the deceased, is asking the court for an order to declare the shooting and killing of his father without justification, as a gross violation of Sections 33(1) and 34 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
He is asking for the sum of N100 million as compensation for the alleged wrongful killing, while praying the court to restrain the defendants from further harassing, victimizing, disturbing, arresting, detaining or subjecting his mother to any form of indignity, inhuman or degrading treatment. He is also demanding for the release of the corpse of his father for befitting burial.
In her sworn affidavit , the deceased’s widow said she had been traumatized since the incident occurred just a day after she had a still-birth. According to her, her husband had come to visit her in the hospital and was asked to go and buy some drugs for her when he was shot dead by the police inspector.
She further alleged that her insistence on justice had led to a series of harassment of her and members of her family, climaxing in the ransacking of her house and arrest and illegal detention in the Oyo and Ogun Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) offices in Ibadan and Eleweran respectively.
Read More:http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29784:court-orders-police-to-appear-in-suit-filed-by-four-year-old&catid=1:national&Itemid=559
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