In a landmark judgment, a High Court sitting in Owerri, Imo State, Coram Hon. Justice I.M. Njaka, has condemned the Nigeria Police Force and its officers for unlawfully detaining the applicant in HAM/77/2024: Chima Philip Amah vs The Inspector General of Police & 7 Others, at the behest of a private individual, ruling that the prolonged detention and transfer of the applicant from Imo State to Abuja for investigation amounted to a grave violation of fundamental human rights.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, 14 March 2025, the court underscored the importance of constitutional protections for human dignity, personal liberty, privacy, freedom of movement, and fair hearing. The applicant, represented by Ifeanyi Asika-Ilobi, Esq. who had been in detention since February 12, 2024, sought the enforcement of his fundamental rights under Sections 34, 35, 36(1), 37, 40, and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Citing the decision in OHANEDUM & ANOR V. C.O.P (IMO STATE) & ORS (2015) LPELR-24318(CA), the judge reaffirmed that the Nigeria Police Force operates as a single entity and that investigations must be conducted fairly and justly at all levels. The court emphasized that investigations should be handled at the local level unless exceptional circumstances justify relocation.
The court strongly criticized the respondents, including the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Imo State, and the Police Service Commission, for allowing an individual—identified as the 7th respondent—to manipulate law enforcement procedures for personal reasons. The judge noted that relocating a suspect far from the locality of an alleged offense for interrogation constitutes psychological and emotional torture.
“To me, without more, it is a violation of fundamental rights to human dignity to uproot a suspect from his locality and venue of the alleged crime to a far and different location for the purposes of investigation and interrogation. The suspect is disoriented, cut off from familiar environment, family, legal counsel, and potential defense witnesses. It is psychologically and emotionally damaging.”
The court condemned the use of financial influence to perpetuate unlawful detention and declared that such actions have no place in a just society. The judge further criticized the practice of complainants bypassing the established police hierarchy in pursuit of their personal vendettas, describing it as an abuse of due process.
“Before I proceed, I want to reiterate the stance of this court on the practice of boycotting the lower structural hierarchy of the police administration in investigation of crime. It surely obliterates the need to have police structures down to the community level. What is the essence of having Police Station Officers, Divisional Police Officers, Area Commanders, Commissioners of Police in the State when almost all the time, it is the Zonal Commands and the Force Headquarters that are the first port of call. Most times, it becomes a measure for affluence, outreach and connection. It ought not to be so. We are invariable rendering the offices manning these posts redundant and making officers posted to those places as inferiors, untrained, unprofessional and corrupt. For an offence that allegedly took place in Imo State, the applicant was detained at the Force Headquarters Abuja and State CID Owerri. For the police to move the suspect from Imo State where the alleged offence took place to Abuja for detention and investigation is wrong. It is my humble view that Authorities must conduct investigations within the suspect’s locality unless in exceptional circumstances…”
In its judgment, the court awarded a total of ₦10 million in damages against the respondents jointly and severally. The court also made an order directing the Respondents, jointly and severally, to publish a public apology to the Applicant, which shall come in form of a letter addressed to the Applicant through his counsel.
This ruling establishes a significant precedent in safeguarding citizens from police overreach and reaffirms the fundamental rights to liberty, dignity, and fair hearing. It sends a strong message against the misuse of law enforcement agencies for personal vendettas and upholds the integrity of the legal system in Nigeria.
This case serves as a powerful reminder that no individual, regardless of their influence, can override the constitutional rights of a Nigerian citizen without legal consequences.
Read full judgement:
Judgment – Chima Philip Amah V IGP & 7Ors – FHR
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