A Cameroonian lawmaker, Manghe Romeo Etta, has dragged the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to court over alleged abuse of his fundamental rights.
Etta, a young Senator representing Manyu Division at the National Assembly of the Republic of Cameroon, is also seeking N200m damages for violation of his fundamental rights.
According to Etta, his ordeal began when he bought a BMW X1 model vehicle from a dealer in Ikom, Cross River State. He said that he followed due process, including registration and transfer of ownership, but the police still impounded the vehicle.
“I was arrested and detained by the Nigeria Police on the instigation of the car dealer, one Mr. Ebi Denis Ebi, and a certain lady Mengot Gift Achugah, for a transaction which I genuinely did with the car dealer.”
Etta said he presented documents proving ownership, but the police alleged the vehicle was stolen and refused to release it.
He said, “I was confronted with embarrassing allegation of buying a stolen car. The police demanded for the particulars of the vehicle and I tendered the particulars to them, yet they refused to hand over the particulars of the vehicle or release my vehicle back to me.”
He alleged that the police detained him for about 12 hours, where he vomited several times due to the unhabitable environment and he was made to pay N150,000 to bail himself out, stressing that his vehicle was towed and kept at the Divisional Police headquarters in Ikom LGA, Cross River State.
Etta’s lawyer, Armstrong Takim Achu, who’s the Head of Armstrong T. Achu & Co chambers, Calabar, said: “My client is seeking damages for violation of his fundamental right by men of the Nigeria Police given the fact that court is the last hope of the common man.”
The court, however, in Suit No. HC/146F/2025 presided over by Justice Theresa Agom, adjourned the matter for hearing to February 10, 2026, asking both the Applicant and Respondents to make themselves available in court when the matter comes up on the said day.
The outcome of this case is eagerly awaited, as it could set a precedent for police accountability in Nigeria.
In reaction to the development, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Cross River State Command, ASP Sunday Ethiopian Akata, said he was yet to be fully briefed on the matter, stressing that he will reach out to LEADERSHIP once he gets the full information of what transpired. “I will get back to you once I am fully briefed by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Ikom,” the PPRO maintained.
