An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to pay ₦28,836,000 to Mr Bamidele Ifamose, owner of First Citizens Supermarket, Osogbo, for violating his fundamental rights to liberty, privacy, and property.
Justice A.A. Aderibigbe gave the order on Monday after finding that officers of the Anti-Narcotic Unit, State Bureau of Investigation, SBI, acted unlawfully during a raid on the supermarket on October 8, 2025.
Ifamose had filed the suit on January 27, 2026, against the Inspector-General of Police, the Osun Commissioner of Police, DSP Tayo Lukman, Officer Nwaliu Alani, SP Akinade, and Inspector Usman as 1st to 6th respondents.
In his affidavit, the applicant said the officers stormed his supermarket without a search warrant or petition, alleging that some goods had expired.
He said a police van was already loaded with beverages and water before his arrival, while other officers continued to load unexpired items into a commercial minibus.
According to him, his protest was ignored, the supermarket was sealed for four days, and he was handcuffed and detained at the State Police Command Headquarters for over 24 hours.
He alleged that officers collected ₦46,500 from him and forced him to transfer ₦612,000 to a POS agent before his release.
Ifamose put the value of goods carted away at ₦3,836,000, adding that the action caused him public humiliation, loss of business, and emotional trauma.
The police, in a counter-affidavit filed by counsel O.G. Maduku of the Directorate of Legal Services, Osun Command, said the raid was lawful and based on a petition about expired goods. The respondents denied extortion.
Through his counsel, Jacob Famodimu, Ifamose asked the court to declare the arrest, detention, warrantless search, and seizure unconstitutional. He sought ₦20 million in general damages, a refund of ₦658,500 allegedly extorted, the return of goods or ₦3,836,000 in lieu, and a public apology.
In his judgment, Justice Aderibigbe said the applicant established his case. The judge noted that the police failed to produce an inventory of goods taken or prove that Ifamose was present during the search.
The court held that the arrest and detention lacked lawful justification and violated the applicant’s rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement under the Constitution. It also ruled that the anti-narcotic unit had no mandate to enforce food safety, which falls under NAFDAC.
“I do not see how the provisions of Section 4 of the Police Act 2020 permit the anti-narcotic section of the Nigerian police to enter and search the applicant’s premises for the purpose of enforcing food safety,” the judge said.
Consequently, the court awarded ₦20 million as general damages, ₦3,836,000 for the goods, and ₦5 million as cost of suit.
It refused the ₦658,500 extortion claim for lack of proof and issued a perpetual injunction restraining the police from further harassment or raid except in compliance with due process.
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