Audu Maikori Jubilant At Last; Awarded 10.5 Million In Damages By Court Of Appeal

Nigerian lawyer and content creator, Audu Maikori, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Chocolate City, will be rewarded for damages resulting from unlawful arrests by the Kaduna Government— as ordered by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of a Federal High Court, Abuja, which ruled that the Kaduna State Government violated Maikori’s rights,  abducting him from his residence in Lagos to Kaduna in February 2017 on the orders of the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to face charges.

Maikori had been arrested on February 17 and on March 10, 2017 respectively.  Governor El-Rufai sent the  police after him, citing  a series of tweets he sent to his followers.

Maikori had released information alleging that some students of the Kaduna State College of Education had been killed by Fulani herdsmen in Southern Kaduna.

“He posted fake pictures of Boko Haram attacks, the Rwandan genocide, as Southern Kaduna killings. It is totally irresponsible to do that”, El-Rufai had said.

Maikori had in his own defense sued El-rufai and Police to Court over unlawful arrest and detention between February 17 and 18, and between March 10 and 13.

A Federal High Court had ruled I favour of the young lawyer, ordering El-Rufai, and three others to pay N40 million as damages.

The state government had promptly challenged the judgement of the Federal High Court, leading the case to the Court of Appeal.