Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has ordered the Nigeria Police Force and four other respondents to pay N100 million in damages over the unlawful death of 22-year-old Onyekachi Mba, who died after being brutally assaulted and shot by police officers attached to the Cross River State Government House. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu delivered the landmark judgment on Thursday, 9 July 2026, in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed on 10 October 2025 by the deceased's counsel, Chief Roland Nbubuka.
The court held that the actions of the police officers, which led to Mba's death, constituted a flagrant violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights to dignity, personal liberty, and life, as provided under Sections 35, 36, 37, and 41 of the 1999 Constitution. The court ruled that the assault and fatal injuries sustained by Mba during the incident at the Government House on 1 August 2025 amounted to an unlawful violation of his fundamental rights. The respondents in the suit include the Nigeria Police Force, ASP Victor Edet, the Police Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State, and SP Emmanuel Dickson, who served as Chief Security Officer of the Government House, Calabar. The court awarded N100 million in damages against the respondents, ruling that the sum may be paid jointly or severally.
The tragic incident that led to the lawsuit occurred on 1 August 2025, when Onyekachi Moses Mba, a young evangelist, went to the former residence of Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu to deliver what he described as a divine message. According to his mother, Victoria Mba, her son had received a vision and felt compelled to share it with the governor. Upon arrival, he was denied entry by about five police officers who questioned whether he had an appointment. When he persisted, explaining that God had directed him, he was treated as a threat. He was beaten, shot, and left lying in a pool of blood from about 11 a.m. until late afternoon. Red Cross officials who heard the gunshots later rushed him to the Navy Hospital in Calabar, where he underwent surgery. However, complications arose, and he fell into a coma. He died on 9 August 2025 after eight days of agonising treatment.
In the aftermath of the killing, the Cross River State Government condemned the incident and ordered an investigation. Governor Otu directed the Commissioner of Police to arrest the officer involved. However, the family accused authorities of attempting to cover up the crime. Security operatives were stationed in the hospital ward until Mba's death, and the family alleged that hospital officials delayed necessary surgery. The government later offered the family N5 million as a condolence gesture, but Victoria Mba rejected the offer, insisting that no amount of money would silence her demand for justice. "Is the value of my son's life N5m?" she asked. "I want justice, not money."
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH in September 2025, she recalled her son's final moments and the pain of watching him suffer. "The assistant commissioner of police told me we should wait for an autopsy. I said fine, but I don't trust their doctors. I can't even watch them touch my son's body. I just want the truth. They think we are stupid. They think they can silence me with money. My son was my first child, my pride, the one his siblings looked up to. They have taken him away and tried to cover it up. I will not be silenced," she said.
The court's decision represents a significant victory for the family, who had fought for nearly a year to hold the authorities accountable. The ruling also sends a strong message about the consequences of police brutality and the importance of protecting citizens' fundamental rights. As the family continues to grieve the loss of their firstborn son, the N100 million judgment offers a measure of justice, though no amount of money can bring back the young man whose life was cut short in the prime of his youth.
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