Shooting: Appeal Court upholds N30m damages against Ondo govt

The Appeal Court in Akure yesterday upheld the judgment of the Ondo State High Court which ordered the Ondo state government to  pay N30 million in damages to a commercial motorcyclist, Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi.

The  lower court  on March 29,2023 ordered  the state government and the State Security Outfit codenamed Amotekun, to pay N30 million to Oluwarotimi, for shooting him in the leg.

The counsel to  Oluwarotimi, Mr Adedotun Adegoroye, who appeared with Mr  Ayo Akinnawonu, representing  Tope Temokun Chambers, had earlier challenged the competency of the  appeal by filing notice of preliminary objection against the appeal.

The three-member panel of judges headed by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, agreed that the notice of appeal filed by the state  government was incompetent.

The judges , therefore, struck out the appeal and awarded the sum of N250,000 against the Ondo State Government as a cost.

Justice Omolara Adejumo of the Ondo State High Court in his judgment, held that the illegal firing constituted a violation of the right to dignity of the applicant.

The court had condemned in the strongest terms the illegal shooting of the victim  in the leg that led to the amputation and now left him with crutches.

Adejumo added that the shooting which led to the amputation of the applicant’s leg was a flagrant violation of the dignity of the victim, sheer victimization and dehumanization.

She added that the said amount should be paid by the two respondents for exemplary and general damages to the applicant in order to cater for his physical and emotional injuries.

According to her, the officers of the corp acted in flagrant abuse of power.

“The illegal shooting at Araromi Street on August 9, 2021, in Akure by the Amotekun was a violation of the applicant’s human rights.

The respondent’s counsel at the Appeal Court told the court that  Tope Temokun Chambers had written  to the Office of the State Governor  notifying the office of the lower court’s judgment and appealed  for compliance with the said judgment.

He added that another letter was written to the office of the Attorney-General of Ondo State, appealing to the Attorney-General of the State to advise the state government , to comply with the Court’s judgment.

“The letters  stipulated that  it was against public policy to use state resources to prosecute an appeal against a vulnerable citizen who is now an amputee, after the government agency shot him in the leg.

The counsel said that the state government did not reply to the two  letters”.