A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has awarded ₦100 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force and four other respondents over the death of 22-year-old Onyekachi Mba.
The respondents in the suit are the Nigeria Police Force, ASP Victor Edet, the Police Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State, and SP Emmanuel Dickson, Chief Security Officer at the Cross River State Government House.
The judgment followed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed on October 10, 2025, by the deceased’s counsel, Chief Roland Nbubuka, over the circumstances surrounding Mba’s death.
According to court records, Mba sustained severe injuries during an incident involving police officers attached to the Government House in Calabar on August 1, 2025.
He was later confirmed dead at the Naval Reference Hospital in the state capital.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Ojukwu held that the assault and fatal injuries sustained by Mba amounted to a violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights to dignity, personal liberty and life under Sections 34, 35 and 33 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The judge further declared that the torture, assault and killing of Mba by police personnel attached to the residence of Governor Bassey Otu were unlawful, unwarranted and constituted a flagrant abuse of power and executive recklessness.
The court subsequently awarded ₦100 million in damages against the Nigeria Police Force and the other respondents.