Akwa Ibom High Court in Uyo on Thursday, January 6, ordered a former councillor and his wife in the state, to pay a woman N4 million for assaulting and forcing her to dance n#ked in the public.
The court presided by Justice Edem Akpan ordered the duo- Uduak Nseobot and his wife, Aniedi- to pay the money to the woman, Iniubong Essien as well as additional N200,000 to cover the cost of litigation.
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Recall that Nseobot had in November 2018 while still in office, abducted the victim in Uyo and drove her to Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of the state, about 27 minutes drive, where he and his wife assaulted and publicly stripped her.
They reportedly accused her of stealing their money, which they claimed was “sprayed” on them at their wedding ceremony.
They were said to have painted the body of the victim with charcoal and tied a rope round her waist, forcing her to dance n#ked before some community people.
Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Akpan said what Nseobot and his wife did to the woman was “totally condemnable.”
The judge added that the man’s action was a typical disregard Nigerian politicians have for citizens’ rights, adding that by their own affidavits, the man and his wife “admitted to committing the atrocities” and that they had no defence for what they did.
Speaking with journalists, a Lagos-based lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who had filed the fundamental rights enforcement suit on behalf of Ms. Essien, said his client had been vindicated by the judgment.
“From the outset, the evidence was very compelling. What the former councillor did was quite outrageous. I think that is about one of the most grievous examples of human rights violations (in Nigeria).
”We are going to enforce the judgment. If they go on appeal, we will be waiting for them,” he said.