In a landmark judgment, the Federal High Court in Abuja has awarded N25 million in damages to Representative Alhassan Doguwa, a ...
In a landmark judgment, the Federal High Court in Abuja has awarded N25 million in damages to Representative Alhassan Doguwa, a lawmaker from Kano State, for wrongful accusations of murder.
Doguwa, who represents the Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was accused of murdering three people during the 2023 general election.
The accusations stemmed from a violent confrontation between members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigerian People's Party (NNPP) during the elections in Kano.
Despite being exonerated by the police and the previous administration, the new governor, Abba Yusuf, vowed to reopen the case and prosecute Doguwa.
Doguwa sued the Attorney-General of the Federation, Inspector-General of Police, the Governor of Kano State, and the Attorney-General of Kano State for alleged infringement of his rights to dignity, liberty, and freedom of movement.
The court cleared Doguwa of the murder allegations and barred the state government from arresting, detaining, and prosecuting him.
The court declared that the threat by the Kano State Governor to arrest, detain, and prosecute Doguwa was illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional.
The court found that Doguwa was wrongly accused of the offenses committed on that day and that the NNPP supporters blocked the main road to prevent results from reaching the collation center.
The judge awarded N25 million in damages against the Kano state government for causing psychological pain to Doguwa and ruled as illegal any further attempt to arrest him.
The court granted a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further inviting, arresting, and detaining Doguwa without fresh evidence against him.
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