Appeal Court dismisses Evans 200M suit against police over seized trucks
Court of Appeal has dismissed 200M filed suit against police by suspected kidnapper Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, also known as Evans
A Lagos state division of the Court of Appeal has dismissed 200M filed suit against police by suspected kidnapper Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, also known as Evans
The filed suit, on Thursday, August 12, was dismissed against the judgment of Justice Hadizat Rabiu-Shagari of the Federal High Court, Lagos over his seized 25 trucks by the Nigeria Police.
Respondents in the case filed by Evans’ lawyer, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, are the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Inspector-General of Police Response Team (IRT), Lagos State Commissioner of Police and Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Evans in the lawsuit accused the Inspector-General of Police and four others of unlawfully seizing his 25 trucks without a court order on June 15, 2017, and converting them to their own.
He asked the court to award N200 million as general and exemplary damages against the police for the alleged violation of his rights under Sections 36, 43, and 44 of the 1999 Constitution.
Though Justice Rabiu-Shagari had on April 19, 2019, dismissed Evans’ suit for lacking in merit, he approached the Appeal Court in an appeal numbered CA/L/1105/2018.
However, the police through its counsel, Emmanuel Eze, attached to the State CID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, asked the court to dismiss the suit as the suspected kidnapper procured 11 trucks through proceeds of crime, of which 10 were recovered as exhibits.
The police in a counter-affidavit deposed to, by Inspector Haruna Idowu, also noted that the trucks were listed as exhibits in the criminal charges filed against Evans at the Lagos State High Court.
Idowu said “The applicant is the notorious and most dreaded armed robber and kidnapper known as Evans, who defiled police arrest for over 10 years and who had terrorised many states of Nigeria with his various gang members. The applicant has no other source of livelihood except armed robbery and kidnapping as so many arms and ammunition were recovered from the applicant during his arrest.”
