A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to pay N2,000,000 to SaharaReporters Publisher, Omoyele Sowore over Illegal seizure of his phones.
The court ordered the immediate release of phones belonging to the activist.
Sowore who was arrested on August 2, 2019 over allegations bordering on treasonable felony, had his phones confiscated for the past two years despite his release from the custody of DSS.
Justice I.A Chikere in a ruling on Wednesday, ordered the DSS to release the confiscated phones while awarding the sum of N2 million as compensation to be paid to the plaintiff.
Sowore had instituted a lawsuit against the SSS and demanded compensation for the gross violation of his fundamental human rights.
The secret police claimed it was still tracking Mr Sowore‘s ties to terrorism via the seized personal belongings including his phones and money.
The activist’s lawyer, Mrs Funmi Falana had prodded the DSS lawyer on the illegality of the seizures when the case came up on December 1.
But the agency’s lawyer could not provide a valid court order that led them to seize the phones and take N10,000 from his hotel room during his abduction in August 2019.
The court also asked the DSS to apologise to Sowore in two national dailies.
