The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld a Federal High Court judgment awarding ₦5 million in damages to Lagos-based lawyer, Kola Sodiya, after ruling that his arrest and detention by the Nigeria Police violated his fundamental rights.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on July 10, 2026, a three-member panel led by Justice Yargata Byenchit Nimpar dismissed the appeal filed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, the Officer-in-Charge of Legal, Zone 2, and two other police officers.
The appellate court affirmed the March 28, 2022 decision of the Federal High Court, which held that Sodiya’s constitutional rights to personal liberty and dignity had been infringed through his unlawful arrest and detention.
The dispute arose after the lawyer was arrested over allegations of forgery and falsification of documents relating to a property located at No. 1 Banjoko Street, Harmony Estate, Ifako-Gbagada, Lagos. The police had argued that the arrest was part of a legitimate criminal investigation.
However, the Court of Appeal found that the police failed to establish any reasonable suspicion linking Sodiya to a criminal offence before his arrest. The court noted that he was arrested at about 5:30 a.m. despite the existence of an ongoing civil suit over the property and prior legal advice indicating that the dispute was purely civil.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Nimpar held that although the police have the authority to arrest without a warrant in certain circumstances, such powers cannot be used to interfere in matters that are essentially civil disputes.
The court also relied on evidence showing that a subsequent police investigation found no proof to support the criminal allegations and recommended that the parties resolve the matter through the civil courts.
Justice Nimpar ruled that the officers involved acted beyond the lawful scope of their duties and could therefore be held accountable for abusing their powers.
Justices Muslim S. Hassan and Paul Hamed Bassi concurred with the judgment.
In his concurring opinion, Justice Hassan stressed that the police have no legal authority to deploy criminal investigations as a tool to influence or interfere in civil disputes already pending before a court. He added that constitutional rights must remain protected except where the law expressly provides otherwise.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in its entirety, upheld the ₦5 million compensation awarded to Sodiya, and ordered the appellants to pay an additional ₦1 million as costs.
The judgment reinforces the long-standing position of Nigerian courts that law enforcement agencies must not use criminal investigations to intimidate citizens or gain an advantage in private civil disputes.
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