IBADAN, Nigeria – The Nigeria Police Force has been ordered to pay N20 million to the family of a missing police constable, Emmanuel Gene.
The order was issued by the National Industrial Court in Ibadan, more than two years after Gene was declared missing during an operation in Ijebu-Igbo, a city in Ogun State.
Constable Gene, who served in the Ijebu-Igbo Division of the Ogun State Police Command, was allegedly kidnapped by hoodlums in Aba Tuntun in December 2020.
Despite their efforts, his family has not found any trace of him, dead or alive, since the incident. His wife was pregnant at the time of his disappearance.
In their despair, the family, represented by their counsel, Kehinde Bamiwola, petitioned the police authorities on September 21, demanding their intervention to find the missing officer.
They specifically called upon the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, the then Area Commander of Ijebu-Ode, AC Abiodun Onuoha, and the Divisional Police Officer, SP Kazeem Solatan, to provide answers.
With no response forthcoming from the Nigerian Police Force, the family brought their case to court.
The case, labeled NICN/IB/74/2021, accused the police of negligence in the matter and sought N20 million in compensation.
Delivering his judgment on Thursday, July 27, 2023, Justice Opeloye A. Ogunbowale found the police liable for negligence under the doctrine of Vicarious Liability.
He said the police had “exposed PC Emmanuel Gene to extreme danger,” and ordered the force to find Gene and provide answers, dead or alive.
In addition to the N20 million compensation, the court also ordered the police to pay N300,000 to cover the cost of litigation within 30 days of the delivery of this judgment.
Speaking with journalists in Abeokuta, Bamiwola hailed the judgment as a significant ruling against police negligence.
“The case is about the disappearance of Police Constable (PC) Emmanuel Gene, who went missing during an operation at Ijebu-Igbo in 2020 alleged to be illegal…The reliefs we sought on behalf of the Claimants were all granted. This is justice for all,” he said.
