Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Tuesday, ordered the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police to pay an Uber driver, Adedotun Clement, the sum of N5 million as compensation.

Clement was allegedly assaulted by officials of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency and the Nigeria Police Force during the first anniversary of #EndSARS on October 20, 2021, at the Lekki Toll-Gate while he was carrying a passenger from the Island to the Mainland and was intercepted by the officials.

Following the pandemonium that ensued after policemen and the officers of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency fired tear-gas canisters to disperse the peaceful protesters and arrested many of them, Clement temporarily abandoned his car like other motorists and ran for his life.

But, by the time he returned to pick up his car, he was accosted, dragged, tortured and manhandled by the officers who refused to listen to his entreaties that he was an Uber driver and only wanted to retrieve his car.

The assault was captured on video which went viral on social media and it was also reported by media houses.

In their attempt to forcefully put him inside the vehicle of the Lagos State Task Force otherwise called Black Maria, the officials of the Lagos State Government in connivance with the police officers also used pepper spray on Clement who cried for help.

Following public condemnation that trailed the viral incident, Lagos-based human rights lawyer and activist, Mr Inibehe Effiong, took up the case and sued the Lagos State Government, the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency, the Attorney General of Lagos, and the Nigeria Police Force.

While delivering judgement in the fundamental rights case with Suit Number: FHC/CS/1862/2021, Justice Allagoa held that the treatment meted on the applicant amounted to a violation of his right to dignity and awarded the sum of N5 million as damages.

The court condemned the torture of Clement by officials of the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force.

The applicant’s counsel, Effiong, in his reaction to the judgement, expressed appreciation to the court for upholding the rights of his client.

Effiong also called on the Lagos State Governor, Babjide Sanwo-Olu, to comply with the judgement and pay the compensation in line with his public declaration that he had compensated victims connected with the EndSARS, and to reassure Lagosians that he believes in human rights.

The Ondo State Police Command has said it had begun an investigation into the cause of death of a woman and her baby inside their room in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

It was gathered that the 29-year-old woman, identified as Tawa, and her husband were found unconscious while their five-month-old baby was already dead in the room on Friday.

The trio were said to have gone to bed on Thursday evening hale and hearty.

A source said the couple bought a new generator a few days before the incident and they put the generator on Thursday evening before going to bed, raising suspicion that the incident must have been caused by the generator’s fume.

According to the source, the family was met in critical condition on Friday. While the baby was already dead, the couple were unconscious and were quickly rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, where the wife gave up the ghost and the medics were battling to save the life of the husband.

There was wild jubilation among Akere Spare Parts Market in Ajegunle, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour donated N15 million to shop owners who lost their valuables to a fire accident in the early hours of the day.

It would be recalled that spare part dealers in the market lost goods valued at millions of naira after a fire razed the market.

The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained but some of the traders have claimed their shops were burnt by political thugs seeking to intimidate them against voting for their preferred candidates in Saturday’s governorship election in Lagos.

“Badagri division has been abandoned by this government for almost two decades. People are upset and voted against them and instead of them to do the work and make the people happy, they’re using intimidation and suppression by burning down their market,” Rhodes-Vivour said at the scene after meeting with the traders.

He added, “There is nothing they can do to stop what is coming, LP is going to Alausa.”