The Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo on Monday ordered the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), and the Police Service Commission (PSC) to pay N100 million in damages for unlawfully attempting to halt the February 22, 2025 local government elections in Osun State.

Delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/41/2025, Justice A.A. Demi-Ajayi held that the Police acted without legal justification when they sealed the offices of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) and arrested members of its staff in the buildup to the polls. The court ruled that the Police failed to show any law violated by OSSIEC to justify its actions.

According to the judge, evidence before the court showed that the election was conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 and other enabling laws.

He added that the Police had no authority to interfere with the electoral process.

OSSIEC and its Chairman, Barrister Hashim Abioye, who filed the suit, asked the court to declare that the sealing of the commission’s offices across the state, the threat to arrest the OSSIEC Chairman, and the arrest of ad-hoc staff were unlawful. They further urged the court to protect their fundamental rights to liberty, dignity, private life and property as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The claimants also accused the Police of partisanship and asked the court to award N2 billion in aggravated damages, describing the Police action as an affront to the judiciary, especially since the conduct of the local government election had been ordered by a court.

They further sought an injunction restraining the IGP and his officers from interfering in the commission’s lawful duties.

However, the Police, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by Inspector Ogunmokun Abiodun, admitted sealing OSSIEC offices and arresting staff, but argued that the move was a preventive measure to stop the commission of a crime. The Police maintained that their actions were based on “credible suspicion” of violations of electoral and other applicable laws—an assertion the claimants dismissed as false.

Inspector Abiodun also denied allegations of partisanship, insisting that the Police acted within their constitutional mandate to maintain law and order. He urged the court to dismiss the suit as frivolous.

Justice Demi-Ajayi, however, ruled in favour of OSSIEC, declaring the Police actions unlawful and awarding N100 million in damages against the IGP, NPF and PSC.

Reacting to the judgment, OSSIEC Chairman Hashim Abioye praised the judiciary for upholding justice. He commended the commission’s legal team led by Maruf Adediran, noting that the ruling had recorded in history the “illegal actions of the Police in interfering with grassroots democracy in Osun State.”