The Federal High Court sitting in Kano on Thursday ordered the spokesman for Kano Police Command, Abdullahi Haruna, to pay N1million damages in favour of a social media activist, Bashir Galadanchi.
In September 2019, Mr Galadanci was arrested, tortured and detained for five days at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS cell on the orders of the police spokesman for criticizing him and the Nigeria Police Force on Facebook.
In the offending post, viewed as innuendo against Mr Haruna, the activist wrote in Hausa language, “Tsintacciyar Mage bata mage”, which roughly means “stray cat doesn’t make a good cat” — an expression which the PPRO took as being personally hauled against him; and which occasioned the arrest, detention and torture of the blogger at the defunct SARS office in Kano.
Delivering the landmark judgement on Thursday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu condemned the actions of the PPRO, the officer in charge of the defunct SARS Uba Bangajiya and others involved in the brutality and harassment.
The judge then ordered them to tender public apology to the applicant in addition to restraining injunction from arrest, detention or any kind of intimidation.
