Human rights lawyer and activist, Mr. Inibehe Effiong, has served Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, with a certified true copy of the judgment order delivered on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, by Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa of a Federal High Court, Lagos, in favour of an Uber driver.
In the judgment, the court ordered Lagos State government to pay N5million to an Uber driver, Adedotun Clement, who was assaulted on October 20, 2021, during the first anniversary of #EndSARS protest by officers of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency and police officers.
In its judgment, the court held that the treatment meted on Clement was barbaric and amounted to a violation of his right to dignity. In addition to the N5million compensation, the court also ordered the State Government and the Police to publish a public apology to Mr. Clement in two national newspapers.
In a letter addressed directly to the governor on Thursday, and also copied to the Attorney General of Lagos State, Effiong asked the governor to comply with the judgment of the Federal High Court, to demonstrate to Lagosians that he believes in human rights and the rule of law.
“We are aware of your public declarations of your commitment to compensate victims of human rights abuses in Lagos State, including those connected with the #EndSARS protest. Our client is an Uber driver and a hardworking Lagosians, whose dignity was gruesomely violated and his source of livelihood disrupted by officials of the Lagos State government.
“Having suffered untold hardship, humiliation, torture and deprivation, we are minded to request that the judgment delivered in our client’s favour be complied with by Lagos State government.
“This case offers an opportunity, for the government under your leadership, to demonstrate its fidelity to the rule of law and devotion to human rights,” the letter concluded.
