Rights violation: Court awards N10m damages against LASTMA

A Lagos High Court In Ikeja has awarded N10m as damages against the  Lagos State Traffic Management Agency and one of its officers, Mr. Sunday Adelebe,  for inflicting “bodily injury” on  a student, Samson Dibie, in 2011.

Justice Doris Okuwobi  held in a judgment on Friday that the act of the agency and its officer amounted to violating the rights of the applicant.

Adelebe allegedly attacked Dibie with a stick at Abule Egba on December 1, 2011. The injury sustained during the attack was said to have led to the amputation of the applicant’s right hand.

He was said to have been attacked by the LASTMA man while trying to escape arrest with his motorcycle.

The applicant, through his lawyer, Mrs. Funmi Falana, subsequently sued LASTMA and the state Ministry of Transport, asking the court to award N200m in his favour as general damages for his injury and the infringement of his fundamental human rights. He also prayed the court to declare that the action of the LASTMA official was unconstitutional and illegal as it violated his rights to dignity of human person.
Justice Okuwobi in her judgment held that the action violated the applicant’s rights but only awarded N10m as against the N200m demanded by the applicant.

 
The judge added that the action violated the applicant’s rights to dignity of human person as guaranteed under Section 34 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She held that the action constituted a threat to the applicant’s right to life as guaranteed in section 33 of the 1999 constitution.
She also held the act violated Article 4 of the Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Arguing the case, Falana had told the court the action of the 1st respondent in the case had almost resulted to the death of applicant while he was hospital, the incident, she argued eventually led to the amputation of his right hand, in a bid to save his life.
She said the incident happened at Oja Oba, Abule Egba Bus Stop around about 8:45am on December 1, 2011 while her client was on his way to school on his motorcycle  .

According to her, the applicant tried to escape when he noticed that LASTMA officials were arresting motorcyclists ahead of him.

In its defence, the state government denied that  none of its officials participated in arresting  motrocyclists (okada riders) as alleged by the applicant. “There was no fracas between the 2nd Respondent officers including me and the motor bike riders on that particular day,” Adelebe had stated in his counter-affidavit opposing the applicant’s suit.