Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Emeka Nwite criticized the police for raiding Hadejia’s home without a warrant and detaining him without justification.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has been fined N10m for fundamental human rights abuse.
A Federal High Court in Abuja fined the IGP and ordered the release of Bashir Hadejia, a politician and businessman.
The court also declared his arrest and detention by the police unlawful and unconstitutional.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Emeka Nwite criticized the police for raiding Hadejia’s home without a warrant and detaining him without justification.
He described the actions as a blatant breach of the law.
“The invasion of the applicant’s home, his arrest without a warrant, and subsequent detention are unlawful and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights,” Nwite stated.
The court further issued a perpetual injunction restraining the IGP, his agents, and servants from arresting or detaining Hadejia unlawfully in the future.
Hadejia, a former special adviser to Bello Matawalle, the ex-governor of Zamfara State, was reportedly arrested in August 2024 by the Force Intelligence Department – Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) over allegations of treason and subversion against the state.
However, Hadejia denied the charges, describing them as politically motivated.
Through his counsel, Mahmud Magaji, Hadejia filed a suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1235/2024) against the IGP and other respondents, including Matawalle and the Department of State Services (DSS). He sought nine reliefs, including a declaration that his arrest was illegal and a demand for N500 million in damages.
Hadejia’s younger brother, Abubakar, provided an affidavit stating that the arrest was part of a political vendetta following a fallout with Matawalle after the latter’s failed reelection bid in 2023. Abubakar also alleged that Hadejia’s home was raided without a search warrant, and no inventory of items was recorded.
Although Matawalle and other respondents denied the allegations, the court found no concrete evidence linking them to Hadejia’s arrest.
However, the judge noted that the IGP failed to challenge the evidence against him.
“It is worthy of note that the 1st respondent did not file any process despite being served with the hearing notices and all court documents. Unchallenged evidence in court is deemed true,” Justice Nwite said.