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A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo has directed the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Police Service Commission to pay N100 million in damages for unlawfully obstructing preparations for the February 22, 2025 local government elections in Osun State.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice A. A. Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/41/2025, faulted the police for sealing the offices of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) and arresting members of its staff ahead of the poll.
The court held that the police failed to provide any legal justification for the clampdown.
Justice Demi-Ajayi said evidence before the court showed that OSSIEC acted within the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and other relevant laws, making the police intervention an unlawful interference in a legitimate electoral process.
OSSIEC and its chairman, Barrister Hashim Abioye, had taken the police authorities to court after officers shut down the commission’s headquarters and local offices, threatened to arrest the chairman, and detained some ad-hoc officials on the eve of the election.
They argued that the actions infringed on their fundamental rights to liberty, dignity, privacy, and property as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The claimants also asked the court to declare the police actions as politically motivated and an attempt to undermine a court-sanctioned election.
They sought N2 billion in aggravated damages and an order restraining the police from further obstructing the commission’s lawful duties.
Responding on behalf of the police, Inspector Ogunmokun Abiodun admitted that officers sealed the commission’s offices and arrested some staff, but claimed the action was a preventive step based on credible suspicion of planned wrongdoing.
He argued that the police acted within their constitutional responsibilities to maintain order and urged the court to dismiss the case as frivolous.
However, Justice Demi-Ajayi rejected the police defence, ruling that the actions were unlawful, unjustifiable, and amounted to a violation of the commission’s rights.
Reacting to the judgment, OSSIEC chairman, Hashim Abioye, described the ruling as a significant affirmation of the commission’s stand from the onset of the crisis.
He commended the judiciary for upholding the rule of law and restoring public confidence in grassroots democracy.
Abioye also praised the legal team led by Maruf Adediran (Esq.) for their dedication throughout the case.
He said the judgment had permanently documented what he termed the police’s unlawful attempt to interfere with an independent electoral process, insisting that future generations would look back on the ruling as a reminder of the importance of protecting democratic institutions.
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