Court awards ₦100 million against police, company over custodial death of ex-CP’s son
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the Police Service Commission (PSC), the Inspector General of Police, and Exus Pharmaceutical (Nig) Ltd to pay a total of ₦100 million in general damages over the torture and fundamental rights breach leading to the death of Omokhinyema Okubo while in police custody.
In a judgment delivered on Monday, July 20, 2026, Presiding Judge Hon. Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala ruled that the Respondents acted jointly and severally in violating the deceased’s fundamental right to life as guaranteed under Section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1246/2025, was instituted by Okubo Aboye Odogu—a retired Commissioner of Police—seeking justice for the death of his 9-year-old minor son’s father/his late son, Omokhinyema Okubo.
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According to court processes filed through his counsel, Augustine A. Abhulimen Esq., the late Omokhinyema worked as a medical sales representative for Exus Pharmaceutical (Nig) Ltd. On July 18, 2023, he traveled on his motorcycle from Ado-Ekiti to the company’s headquarters in Ketu-Epe, Lagos State, after being summoned over an alleged shortfall of ₦2,300,000 in his trading account.
Upon his arrival, the company’s manager, Joseph Osakwe (6th Respondent), handed him over to police officers at the Ketu-Epe station led by CSP Monday Awusinu (4th Respondent).
The Applicant alleged that the police subjected Omokhinyema to severe torture, beating, and starvation to force a confession regarding the missing funds.
The deceased managed to contact his sister, Jumoke Okubo, via a cell guard’s phone to request for food and water.
When Jumoke arrived at the station on July 20, 2023, she was casually informed by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) that her brother had died and the matter had been transferred to the State CID, Yaba.
Despite being served initiating processes and hearing notices, the police respondents—including the Police Service Commission, the Inspector General of Police, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, and CSP Monday Awusinu—failed to file a defense or appear in court.
However, Exus Pharmaceutical (Nig) Ltd and Joseph Osakwe (5th and 6th Respondents), represented by John D. Oloyede Esq., contested the suit. They argued that reporting an alleged crime of fraud, diversion, and forgery amounting to ₦2,036,905 to the police was a lawful civic duty.
According to them, the deceased was treated with dignity and was not tortured or handcuffed while in custody.
They asserted that the Applicant failed to establish a direct causal chain between their complaint and the death, noting the absence of a proper autopsy report proving police brutality.
Court findings and ruling
In his judgment, Justice Kala dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the private respondents regarding the Applicant’s affidavit evidence and locus standi. He affirmed that under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, parents and legal representatives have full legal standing to enforce the fundamental human rights of a deceased relative.
Addressing the substantive matter, the judge criticized the police for failing to defend the action or properly investigate what he described as a “grievous crime of murder”.
”The 1st–4th Respondents having failed to investigate a serious crime as murder, the most grievous kind of homicide, is novel. This constituted a clear intention to deprive the Applicant’s son his right to life, and same is regrettable,” Justice Kala held.
The Court further held that the 5th and 6th Respondents could not hide behind reporting a crime, as the dispute was essentially a civil debt recovery matter. The judge observed that the company failed to pursue the formal guarantor bond executed upon the deceased’s employment, choosing instead to use the police to enforce civil liability.
To compensate the bereaved father for the unconstitutional deprivation of his son’s right to life, the court awarded N60 million against the 1st Respondent, the Police Service Commission for the joint liability, arising from police misconduct, illegal detention and torture, committed by the 1st–4th Respondents (the Inspector-General of Police, Lagos State Commissioner of Police and CSP Monday Awusinu).
It also awarded N40 million against the 5th and 6th Respondents, Exus Pharmaceutical and Joseph Osakwe, as joint tortfeasors for initiating unlawful police action.
Justice Kala concluded by noting that while no monetary compensation can fully replace human life, the damages serve as a judicial redress against state impunity and unlawful self-help.
