Justrite To Pay N1m Damages To Customer Over False Theft Accusation

• Yusuf Oketola

AN Osun State High Court, sitting in Osogbo, has awarded a sum of N1million as damages against Justrite shopping mall in Osogbo for wrongly accusing a customer of theft.

The court also ordered the mall to write a formal letter of apology to the female customer, Adeola Ikotun, who was said to have been harassed by agents and staff of the mall who raised false alarm of theft on her.

Ikotun’s private parts were reportedly searched by agents and staff of the mall without finding any incriminating item on her.

After suffering the public ridicule on December 22, 2019, Ikotun dragged Justrite Limited to court and demanded N10m as damages and a public apology in two national newspapers, claiming that her character was defamed by the business outfit.

In the suit marked HOS/42/2020, the plaintiff (Ikotun) had argued that one of the female security agents of the shopping mall dipped her hand inside her private part not minding that she was experiencing her menstrual period.

She asked the court to compel the defendant (Justrite Limited) to pay her the sum N180,000.00 being the cost she incurred as payment for medical bills and also pleaded with the court to mandate the firm to pay her a sum of N400,000.00 being cost she incurred for the prosecution of the case.

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Delivering his judgement on Wednesday, the presiding judge, Justice Jide Falola, held that Ikotun was defamed after the anti-theft device of the shopping mall was activated, a situation that elicited gathering of crowd around her thus making some eyewitnesses to have wrong impression about her character.

Falola ordered Justrite Limited to pay a sum of N1million to Ikotun as damages, and also write an official letter to apologise to her.