Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami and the Department of State Services (DSS) have appealed an Oyo State High Court judgment that awarded N20 billion aggravated damages against them for the illegal invasion of the home of Sunday Adeyemo (aka Igboho) in Ibadan.
The appellants filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division.
Raising 18 grounds of appeal and six issues for determination, they claimed to be dissatisfied with the judgment of Justice A. I. Akintola on September 17, 2021.
They also prayed the court to allow the appeal, “set aside the judgment of the trial court and dismiss the case in its entirety”.
Recall that in its judgment, the high court had granted all the 16 reliefs sought by Igboho and ordered the AGF and DSS to pay him N20 billion in aggravated damages.
Aside from rejecting the entire judgment, the appellants particularly faulted the lower court’s position that the invasion violated Igboho’s fundamental rights.
They faulted Igboho’s claim, which the court affirmed, that the DSS personnel shot through the ceiling of the house, depriving Igboho of quiet enjoyment of his house for the period of the armed invasion, thereby violating his fundamental human rights against compulsory acquisition of his property and privacy.
The AGF and DSS further objected to the conclusion of the court that the invasion was “oppressive, malicious, arbitrary and grossly unconstitutional,” simply because of the claim that the DSS invaded Igboho’s house without announcing who they were and without asking him to open his gate but rather shot their way through, killing two people in violation of his rights.
