By SUNDAY EJIKE, Abuja

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Nigerian Police to pay the sum of N15 million as compensation to the family of the three members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (Shiites) killed by the Police last year.

Plaintiffs, who are brothers to the deceased had dragged the police to court over the alleged killing of their brothers, late Suleiman Shehu, Mahdi Musa, Bilyaminu Faska and Askari Hassan on July 22, 2019 while on a peaceful protest to demand the freedom of their Islamic Leader, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.

Sued alongside the Police are the Medical Directors of National Hospital, Abuja, and Asokoro District Hospital.

While the bodies of Suleiman Shehu, Mahdi Musa and Bilyaminu Abubakar Faska were alleged to have been deposited at National Hospital, Abuja, the body of Askari Hassan was alleged to have been kept in Asokoro District Hospital.

The plaintiffs, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Ahmad Musa, Yusuf Faska and Said Haruna, in separate affidavits in support of the Originating Motions to enforce their fundamental rights filed, said they were brothers to the deceased.

The trial Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in his judgment, ordered the Police to pay N5 million to each of the three deceased families.

The Judge agreed with the applicants that the killings of the deceased by the police was illegal, unlawful, null and void and amounts to gross violation of their fundamental rights to life as enshrined in Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Justice Taiwan also ordered the National Hospital, Abuja, to immediately release the three corpses in its morgue to their families for burial according to Islamic rites.

Justice Taiwo, however, declined to grant the prayer by the plaintiffs that the Nigerian Police should tender an apology to them in two national newspapers. (Nigerian Tribune)