Appeal Court Upholds N30Million Award Against Ondo Govt To Man Shot By Amotekun

An appeal filed by the Ondo State Government against the judgment of the State High Court in favour of a man shot by an operative of the Security Network Agency, code-named Amotekun in the state, has been struck out by the Appeal Court sitting in Akure.

The State High Court had on March 29, 2023, ordered the state government to pay the sum of N30 million as compensation to the victim, Mr Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi.

The 36-year-old Oluwarotimi was shot in the leg in Akure in August 2021 and subsequently abandoned.

The affected leg was later amputated.

His lawyer, Tope Temokun, told newsmen on Tuesday afternoon that the Court of Appeal in Akure had struck out the appeal filed by the state government to challenge the high court ruling delivered on March 29, 2023.

Temokun said, “Recall that on the 29th of March 2023, the Ondo State High Court, presided over by Justice Omolara Adejumo, gave judgment in the case filed by Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, a 36-year-old Okada rider who was shot in the leg by the Ondo State Security Network Agency, code-named Amotekun, in Akure, on the 9th of August 2021 and awarded the sum of thirty million naira as damages against the Ondo State Government and the Amotekun Corps, in favour of Mr Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, who is now an amputee.

“In awarding this sum, the court had condemned in the strongest terms the illegal shooting of the applicant in the leg that led to the amputation of his leg and now left him in crutches.

“Following the delivery of the said Judgment, Mr Tope Temokun, counsel to Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, in his letter received in the office of the governor of Ondo State on the 30th of March, 2023 wrote to the governor of Ondo State notifying him of the judgment and appealing for compliance with the said judgment.

“In the same vein, Mr Tope Temokun, by a separate letter, dated 30th of March 2023 and delivered on the 31st of March, 2023, wrote another letter to the Attorney-General of Ondo State, appealing to the Attorney-General of the State to advise the Government of Ondo State, to comply with the court’s judgment, saying it’s against public policy to use state resources to prosecute an appeal against a vulnerable citizen who is now an amputee, after the government agency shot him in the leg.

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“While the government did not reply to these letters, by the Notice of Appeal dated 3rd of April 2023, the Ondo State government filed an Appeal in No. CA/AK/84/2023, against the judgment.”

Temokun had earlier challenged the competency of this appeal by filing notice of preliminary objection against the appeal.

On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, when the matter came up in the Court of Appeal Akure, after listening to Mr Adedotun Adegoroye, who appeared with Ayo Akinnawonu, both representing Tope Temokun Chambers, for the Respondent and Mr Oluwasegun Akeredolu, representing the Ondo State government, the Appellant, the Court agreed that the notice of appeal filed by the Ondo State government was incompetent and struck out the appeal.

“The Appeal Court subsequently awarded the sum of N250,000 against the Ondo State Government as cost,” Temokun said.