A Kaduna High Court has delivered judgment against the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, declaring the attempt to ban opposition political meetings as unconstitutional and awarding N15 million in damages to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The judgment, delivered on Wednesday by Justice Murtala J. Zubairu, followed a suit filed by the state Commissioner of Police seeking to prohibit political gatherings after thugs violently disrupted an ADC meeting attended by former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and other party leaders.

The ruling, which was shared on El-Rufai’s official X page, revealed the police acted unlawfully by targeting the opposition instead of investigating those responsible for the attack, describing the Commissioner’s action as “a clear pattern of potential abuse of power.”

Justice Zubairu declared that the police’s conduct breached the parties’ fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and association under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, noting that the move to impose a statewide ban on political meetings was “oppressive, selective, and high-handed.”

The court struck out the police case for incompetence and abuse of process while granting all the counterclaims by the ADC and SDP. It further awarded a total of ₦15 million in damages, ₦5 million each under three separate heads of violation and negligence.

In his words, the judge held:

“The Applicant fundamentally breached their statutory duty and unlawfully infringed upon the Counter-Claimants’ fundamental rights. The unconstitutionality of the Applicant’s conduct justifies the declarations sought. The actions taken by the police, targeting the victims of violence and seeking a statewide ban on opposition activity, are oppressive and warrant exemplary damages.”

The court also discharged an earlier ex parte injunction obtained by the police to halt political assemblies, ruling that it was issued irregularly and without the mandatory undertaking for damages, in violation of the principle established in Kotoye v CBN (1989).

Justice Zubairu emphasized that the police failed to investigate legitimate complaints lodged by the opposition parties while instead acting against them, a development he described as a “serious abdication of duty.”

The ruling, which has since been shared on social media by El-Rufai, is seen by observers as a major victory for opposition parties in Kaduna State and a judicial rebuke to what critics have termed the increasing intolerance of dissenting political voices.

Source; PM News