Awards Damages Against Lagos State Commissioner of Police
In a landmark judgment delivered on 22nd October 2025, the High Court of Lagos State, presided over by Honourable Justice Adenike K. Shonubi, sitting at Ikeja, ordered the unconditional release of Mr. Sewedo Folorunsho, who had been unlawfully detained for eight years without trial.
Mr. Folorunsho, represented by the law firm of Monday O. Ubani, SAN & Co., had filed an application for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights, challenging his prolonged incarceration without a formal charge.
The suit named as respondents the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State (1st Respondent), the Attorney General of Lagos State (2nd Respondent), and the Deputy Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Lagos (3rd Respondent).
The applicant was reportedly arrested by the police in 2012 on an allegation of murder and kept in a congested cell before being arraigned before the Ebute Metta Magistrate Court on a holding charge in 2017.
Despite the arraignment, no formal information was ever filed before the High Court of Lagos State to commence his trial, resulting in his indefinite detention at the correctional facility from 2017 until the judgment date.
In her well-reasoned judgment, Justice Shonubi condemned the prolonged and unlawful detention as a gross violation of the applicant’s constitutional rights to personal liberty, dignity of human person, and fair hearing.
The Court consequently ordered his immediate and unconditional release from custody and awarded damages of five hundred thousand naira against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.
Reacting to the judgment, M. O. Ubani, SAN, whose firm handled the case, and one of his lawyers, Mr. Iwowo Anthony, who adopted the written address of the application on behalf of the law firm, commended the Court for its courage and fidelity to the rule of law, describing the decision as “a victory for human rights, justice, and the sanctity of liberty in Nigeria.”
The judgment has been hailed by human rights advocates as a reminder that no institution of the state should trample upon the rights of citizens with impunity.
