Jigawa Court Awards N10m and Apology for Man Held Without Trial for 10 Years

Justice Ado Yusif Birnin-Kudu of the Jigawa State High Court has ruled for the immediate release of Ja’o Sabo, a Nigerian man who was held for over ten years without a trial.

The judgment was delivered on Tuesday, January 7, in a fundamental rights enforcement suit, with the court awarding Sabo N10 million in damages and instructing the authorities to issue a public apology.

Sabo was apprehended in 2014 on charges of criminal conspiracy and armed robbery but remained in custody for over a decade without his case being tried.

The judge remarked that Sabo's extended detention represented a significant violation of his constitutional rights.

The ruling ordered the Attorney-General of Jigawa State, the state government, and the Commissioner of Police to collectively compensate Sabo with N10 million for his unlawful detention.

Furthermore, the court mandated that a public apology be aired on major radio stations across Jigawa State.

"The extended detention of Mr. Sabo without trial constitutes a clear breach of his fundamental rights as outlined in Sections 35, 36, 41, and 46 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)," the judge stated in his ruling.