A barber identified as Haggai Oscar Oku was reportedly arrested by the Akwa Ibom police under a mistake of identity in December 2020.
The judge, justice Ntong said that arresting and detaining an innocent citizen for a long period is wrong because his right has been violated.
Justice Ntong started;
“I hold that the unlawful arrest and the continuous detention of the applicant without trial till the day this Honourable Court granted him bail, amount to torture as the applicant suffered aggravated psychological harassment.”
“Though there is no direct evidence of torture of the applicant by the respondent. The only situation that can assuage and ameliorate the suffering of the applicant is the payment of damages in monetary term.”
The Akwa Ibom High court orders that the barber should be compensated with the sum of #2million naira for damages.
