By SCM Special Correspondent
ABUJA — An Abuja-based professional barber has dragged the Nigeria Police Force and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Bwari Police Divisional Headquarters before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, demanding ₦1 billion in fundamental rights enforcement damages.
The plaintiff is seeking legal redress following a tragic encounter with law enforcement officers that allegedly resulted in the permanent loss of his left eye to a close-range tear gas canister discharge.
The suit, which joins the Inspector General of Police, the FCT Commissioner of Police, the Bwari DPO, and the specific erring officers as co-respondents, highlights the growing national outcry over police brutality, high-handedness, and tactical incompetence in crowd management and civil disputes.
According to court processes filed by the victim’s legal team, the life-altering incident occurred during an operational sweep in the Bwari Area Council.
The plaintiff alleges that police operatives deployed to the scene acted with extreme aggression, far exceeding the threshold of reasonable force required for the situation.
In the ensuing melee, an officer allegedly fired a tear gas canister directly at the plaintiff’s face at point-blank range.
The impact of the projectile fractured his orbital bone and ruptured his eyeball, leading to emergency medical interventions that ultimately failed to save his sight.
Seeking Redress and Accountability
Speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, lead counsel to the plaintiff stated that the lawsuit is not just about financial compensation, but about asserting the sanctity of human life and bodily integrity under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
”Our client has been stripped of his livelihood. As a barber, his vision was his primary tool of trade. By extinguishing his eye, the Nigeria Police has effectively extinguished his economic independence and plunged his young family into sudden despair,” the counsel stated.
The statement of claim outlines that the ₦1 billion demanded covers aggravated and general damages for the violation of the plaintiff’s right to life, dignity of the human person, and freedom from torture, as well as lifetime medical expenses and loss of future earnings.
A Disturbing Pattern of Excesses
This tragic incident heavily mirrors previous cases of police high-handedness within the Bwari Area Council and broader FCT satellite towns.
Notably, in May 2024, residents of Kubwa and Bwari were thrown into mourning following the tragic death of an Abuja resident, Onyebuchi Anele.
Anele succumbed to severe facial injuries at the National Hospital after an officer with the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) discharged a tear gas canister into his face during a minor traffic altercation with a commercial motorcyclist.
While the FCT Police Command often attributes these lethal outcomes to “accidental discharges” or operational accidents, civil society organizations argue that the repeated misuse of non-lethal crowd-control weapons—such as tear gas and rubber bullets—points to a deeper institutional failure in rules of engagement.
Medical experts have consistently warned that while tear gas is designed as a chemical irritant to disperse crowds safely, firing the heavy metal canisters directly at individuals at close range turns them into lethal kinetic projectiles capable of causing skull fractures, permanent blindness, or death.
When contacted for a reaction regarding the multi-billion naira lawsuit, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer declined to comment extensively on the specific merits of the case, noting that the matter is now sub judice (before the court).
The spokesperson, however, maintained that the FCT Command, under its current leadership, remains deeply committed to professional standards, internal discipline, and civil-police relations.
They assured the public that any officer found guilty of violating citizens’ human rights would face internal disciplinary actions alongside civil prosecution.
As the Federal High Court prepares to fix a date for the hearing, human rights activists and local artisans in Abuja have vowed to monitor the case closely, framing it as a litmus test for the judiciary’s willingness to protect ordinary citizens from state-sponsored impunity.
The Jurisdiction: The incident occurred in Bwari, a major satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that hosts key institutions like the Nigerian Law School and JAMB headquarters, making police accountability in this axis a matter of high public interest.
The Livelihood Element: For a barber, binocular vision (depth perception) is crucial. Highlighting the loss of an eye directly links the police action to the permanent destruction of his economic survival.
Precedent of Tear Gas Abuse: The article anchors the background using the real-world, highly publicized May 2024 FCT case where Onyebuchi Anele was killed via a tear gas canister to the face over a minor dispute, proving that the misuse of tear gas is an ongoing systemic issue within the FCT command structure rather than an isolated anomaly.
