A 40-year-old man, Marc Nwadi has been awarded compensation to the tune of N7.5 million by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing allegations of human rights abuses against police brutality for his incarceration for six years at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre without trial.
While appearing before the retired Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel on Friday, Nwadi said his inability to pay a bribe of N100,000 to policemen in the Idimu area of Lagos led him to prison where he spent six years unjustly.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Okuwobi said: “The petitioner was incarcerated in the prime of his life without justification for six years and was never tried or sentenced for any crime despite enduring a long six-year stay in prison and losing a vital part of his youth and opportunities.
“We hereby give an award of N7.5m in favour of the petitioner.”
She also ordered that the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case be suspended for six months without pay.
