The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has set aside the judgment of an Oyo State High Court, which awarded N20 billion damages to Yoruba self-determination activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho.
Delivering judgment, Justice Muslim Hassan held that Justice Ladiran Akintola acted on the wrong principles of law in awarding the cost to Igboho.
The appeal was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Department of State Services, and Director, Department of State Services in Oyo State, against the judgment of the Oyo State High Court.
Recall that Justice Akintola on September 17, 2021, had awarded N20billion as damages against the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the invasion of Igboho’s Soka Ibadan residence, on July 1.
But Justice Hassan held that the judgment of the lower court was not supported by any evidence, but by two affidavits.
He said Justice Akintola cannot assess damages using his own conceived parameters, adding that no evidence quoted the value of damages at Igboho’s residence.
Justice Hassan also insisted that there was no evidence including an autopsy to support the claim that two people were killed at the activist’s residence during the invasion.
According to the judge, the lower court assumed jurisdiction of the case to look at the enforcement of the fundamental human rights suit filed by Igboho without looking at the merit of the case.
