Six years after a court ruled that the Department of State Services (DSS) should pay a Sokoto businessman its operatives unlawfully shot N10 million compensation, the agency has finally complied with the judgment.

To make up for the delay in remedying the years of untold hardship caused the man, the DSS doubled the compensation amount to N20m.

The victim was shot at the wee hours of April 2, 2016, by DSS operatives who raided his Jos, Plateau State residence.

The operatives were in search of a suspected gunrunner who shared the same last name with the man but ended up shooting him on the thigh only to discover he was not the suspect they were after.

The operatives later that day arrested the actual suspect and transferred him to Abuja.

But after shooting the businessman, they realised their mistake and rushed him to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) where they abandoned him.

As if that was not enough, the man was left untreated due to doctors? strike and was eventually moved to a military hospital.

Life took a devastating turn for the businessman after the incident.

He lost his capital, his thriving fertiliser business, and became deeply indebted.

Unable to keep up with rent, he was evicted from his home. The injuries, coupled with financial struggles, forced him to relocate to Sokoto State with his family.

The aggrieved businessman approached the court with a fundamental rights suit which was decided in 2018 in his favour and the DSS ordered to pay N10m compensation, a debt that was only redeemed on Friday, March 15, 2025.

Redeeming the judgement debt, Director-General of the SSS, Adeola Ajayi, added another ?10 million as a goodwill gesture to help the businessman rebuild his life.

Reliving the experience, the business

Recounting the harrowing experience, the businessman who requested anonymity due to security concerns said the operatives arrived at his apartment around 4:30am that day.

?They banged on my neighbours? doors, asking for someone with my name. When they found me, I told them my full name, but they didn?t believe me. Before I could explain further, they shot me in the thigh,? he recounted.

While in Sokoto, things worsened. Between 2019 and 2020, he lost two young children to malaria and typhoid, illnesses that could have been prevented with better healthcare access.

?My one-year-old daughter passed away in 2019, and in 2020, my six-year-old also died from the same illness,? he recounted, his voice breaking.

Once financially stable with over ?5 million in business capital, he had to take loans amounting to ?8.7 million just to survive. The bulk of his SSS compensation has now gone into repaying those debts, with the remaining funds set aside to revive his business.

Determined to seek justice, the businessman, through his lawyer Akibu Idris, sued the SSS in 2016. After two years of legal delays, the Federal High Court in Bauchi ruled in his favor in February 2018, ordering the agency to pay ?10 million in damages for violating his fundamental rights.

However, rather than complying, the SSS appealed the ruling, further prolonging the businessman?s ordeal. In 2019, the Court of Appeal in Jos dismissed the agency?s appeal after it failed to follow through on necessary court procedures.

Following the appellate victory, Mr. Idris prepared to file a lawsuit to enforce the judgment debt. Instead, he opted to appeal directly to the Attorney-General?s office, a move that led to the recent breakthrough.

After an internal review, the SSS agreed to pay the court-ordered ?10 million and, in an unexpected show of goodwill, its Director-General, Adeola Ajayi, personally added another ?10 million.

An SSS insider confirmed that, apart from the compensation, the businessman was given access to the agency?s medical facilities for further treatment.

?He was a victim of mistaken identity, shot in the lower limb to prevent escape during a raid. Medical assessments confirmed that while the wound has healed externally, he still suffers from mobility issues,? said the insider.

The businessman, who still struggles to walk, plans to relocate his family back to Jos and restart his business.

Despite years of suffering, the businessman expressed gratitude to the SSS Director-General for his kindness.

?May Allah bless him. It was my destiny to go through this, but I will never forget the people who stood by me, especially my lawyer,? he said.

His lawyer, Akibu Idris, who handled the case pro bono, praised the SSS leadership for setting a precedent for accountability and justice in Nigeria.

?This decision will boost public confidence in the judiciary and law enforcement,? he said.

As he looks forward to a fresh start, the businessman hopes his story will inspire greater accountability among security agencies, ensuring that innocent citizens never suffer the same fate. (The Nation)

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