A Kaduna State High Court has ordered the State Commissioner of Police to pay N15 million in damages for unlawfully disrupting political gatherings organised by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Justice Murtala Zubairu, in a landmark judgment delivered on Wednesday, ruled that the police violated the fundamental rights of the political parties to freedom of assembly and association as guaranteed under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The judge further issued a perpetual injunction restraining the Commissioner of Police, his officers, and agents from further interference in the lawful political activities of the two parties within the state.
According to the court, the police acted in bad faith and went beyond their statutory powers when they disrupted two political meetings involving a former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, and chieftains of the ADC and SDP on August 30 and September 4, 2025, respectively.
Reports indicate that the first meeting was attacked by hoodlums allegedly in the presence of police officers, while the second was halted following an ex parte order obtained by the police to suspend political gatherings in the state.
The police, in suit number KDH/KAD/NPD/1315/2025, had sought the suspension of all political meetings pending the conclusion of investigations into alleged threats of violence.
However, Justice Zubairu dismissed the case, describing it as “incompetent, politically motivated, and an abuse of court process.” He faulted the police for acting outside their legal mandate under the Police Act 2020.
“The duty of the police is to provide security for peaceful assemblies, not to ban or suspend them based on speculative intelligence or vague fears of violence,” the judge stated.
The court further ruled that the ex parte injunction obtained by the police on September 4, 2025, was unconstitutional and procedurally defective, noting that it infringed on the political parties’ fundamental rights.
In his ruling, Justice Zubairu awarded N15 million in damages to the respondents, comprising N5 million each for unlawful disruption of meetings, wrongful injunction, and failure to investigate the reported attack on August 30.
He also directed the Commissioner of Police to conduct a proper investigation into the violence that occurred during the first meeting and to submit a comprehensive report to the Kaduna State Attorney-General within 60 days.
Justice Zubairu warned that selective enforcement of laws and the suppression of opposition activities by law enforcement agencies pose grave dangers to democratic governance and public confidence in state institutions.
He stressed that the police must act within the ambit of the law, protecting rather than stifling the rights of citizens and political actors to associate freely and peacefully.
