A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay N200 million in compensation and exemplary damages for the unlawful killing of Abuja-based Islamic cleric and truck driver, Mallam Kabiru Babai.

Delivering judgment in a fundamental rights suit filed on behalf of Babai’s widow, Balkisu Kabiru Babai, Justice Peter Lifu held that the police violated the deceased’s constitutional right to life and must be held accountable for the fatal shooting.

The case was brought by lawyer Okpi Adaafu for the Muslim community of Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja, where Babai had served as an imam and philanthropist. The court found that the widow had proved her case through affidavit evidence, which went unshaken by the respondents.

According to court documents, Babai and his colleagues were travelling through Osogbo, Osun State, when their truck broke down at Ota Efun. While Babai was under the vehicle fixing a mechanical fault, police officers arrived at the scene and an argument reportedly ensued with the truck crew.

One of the officers allegedly shot the co driver, Harisu Musa, in the hand. Babai, emerging from beneath the truck to protest the shooting, was said to have been struck with a shovel, kicked repeatedly and then hit with the butt of a rifle before being shot in the chest by Sergeant Moses Samuel. The bullet pierced his heart and killed him on the spot.

The officers were said to have fled, but bystanders apprehended one of them and took him, along with Babai’s body, to the police command. His remains were later deposited at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital mortuary in Osogbo before being transported to Bauchi State for burial.

In his judgment, Justice Lifu declared the killing unlawful and a grave breach of Babai’s right to life. He stressed that the “devastating consequences” on the widow and children must be reflected in the compensation awarded.

The court ordered the Police Service Commission, the Inspector General of Police and the Osun State Commissioner of Police to pay N200 million to Babai’s widow. It further directed them to commence criminal prosecution of Sgt Moses Samuel, who had earlier been indicted for murder but never brought to trial.

However, the court declined to compel the Attorney General of the Federation to initiate criminal proceedings, ruling that the responsibility to prosecute the officer rests primarily with the police authorities.