A Benue State High Court has awarded N800 million in damages against the Nigerian Army and 10 others over the brutal murder of Sixtus Akure, a senior tax officer with the Benue Internal Revenue Service (BIRS). The judgment comes three years after Akure’s death in 2022.
The court found the Nigerian Army culpable in Akure’s death and ordered them to pay the sum to his wife, Catherine Akure, for violating his fundamental right to life.
The court also ordered BIRS to give Catherine Akure a permanent and pensionable appointment.Akure was abducted from his duty post on January 15, 2022, and found lifeless by the roadside the next day.
A Coroner Inquest in 2022 found the Nigerian Army responsible for his death.The BIRS, under the leadership of Mimi Adzape-Orubibi, filed a suit on behalf of Akure’s family. The Nigerian Army and 10 others were joined as defendants.
In her reaction, Catherine Akure thanked the judiciary for being the last hope of the common man and commended Mimi Adzape-Orubibi and her lawyer, Desmond Wendeh, for their support. She said the awarded sum will be used to cater for her children and her husband’s surviving mother.