On Friday, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano State slammed a N10 million fine on the Kano State government for abusing the rights of the 15th Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, News About Nigeria reports.
According to the court, the state government abused the rights of movement and freedom of civil liberty of the deposed Emir of Kano.
Delivering judgement on the matter on Friday, the Presiding Judge of the Federal High Court 3, Justice Simon Amobeda, upheld the applicant’s counsel’s withdrawal of reliefs Orders 1-2 because they have the right under the rules of law to do so and as such they are no longer part of the case.
The Court also condemned the move by the Kano state government to put Bayero on house arrest, noting that the decision stopped him from going about his personal endeavours.
The judgement partly reads, “It is the duty of the court to protect the rights of every citizen but that protection cannot be done in a vacuum, a person crying violation of his fundamental human rights must provide cogent and vital evidence to that effect to which the applicant has successfully provided. I hold that without any lawful justification, the applicant is threatened, breaching his fundamental rights to liberty as guaranteed in Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
“Similarly, there is an act of the government that has forced the applicant to a house arrest, preventing him from going about his lawful business, which constitutes a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights to freedom of movement as guaranteed under Section 41(1) of the 1999 Constitution. That the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respondents, that is, the Police, the DSS, Army, Air Force, and Navy, are either by themselves, their agents, servants, privies, or any other person’s or authority forthwith restraint from arresting, detaining, or harassing the applicant. That the second respondent and the government of Kano State should pay the sum of N10 million for breach and likely breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed in the 1999 constitution.”
