Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and five other individuals were given ₦900 million in damages by a Federal High Court in Kaduna for their roles in the unlawful incarceration of Adara elders in 2019.
In a lawsuit brought by Awemi Dio Maisamari and eight other Southern Kaduna Adara elders, Justice Hauwa’u Buhari rendered the decision on Tuesday.
El-Rufai was held accountable for the ₦900 million compensation after the court found that he personally planned their arbitrary arrest.
In addition to the compensation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police of Kaduna State were all given ₦10 million in general damages and ₦10 million in special damages by the court.
Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, the applicants’ counsel, hailed the decision as a major win in the continuous fight against power abuse. Stressing that it holds those in positions of authority accountable, even when they are protected by immunity, she called the ruling a milestone ruling.
Whether or not the office holders are temporarily protected by immunity, Ballason said, “This ruling represents a turning point against the misuse of authority and accountability for misuse.” Executive lawlessness is not justified, even when those in positions of power are immune.
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The complaint was initiated after El-Rufai’s term as governor, and the former governor was designated as the first respondent in his individual capacity.
In 2019, after Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima, the supreme ruler of the Adara people, was murdered, the petitioners were taken into custody.
According to reports, El-Rufai had at the time ordered Maisamari and other community leaders to be arrested because they were deemed security concerns in Kajuru. A former police commissioner and a former commissioner, Bawa Magaji, were among those arrested.
However, since the Attorney General discovered no evidence against them, the arrested individuals were ultimately released.
