The Nigerian Police Force has been forced to pay a N15 million fine to seven accused Boko Haram members who were wrongfully held for three years without trial by the Federal Investigation Agency.
According to reports, the applicants, Ajiri Dungus, Gudja Giddah, Adam Mohammed, Wardi Dungus, Fanami Mustapha, Mohammed Abba, and Makinka Dungus, were detained within a Maiduguri market and "dumped" at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad's prison facility in Abuja.
Justice M. O. Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who gave the judgment, found that the applicants' fundamental human rights had been breached, which was in violation of sections of the 1999 constitution on human rights, according to the ruling.
When ordering the release of the seven petitioners, Justice Olajuwon ruled that the police acted in bad faith by detaining them for longer than the period authorized by law, especially when there was no logical and verifiable basis for indicting them for any crime.