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AKURE – An amputee and commercial motorcyclist, Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, who was awarded N30million as damaged against Ondo State government by the state High Court and upheld by Appeal Court sitting in Akure, has appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to obey the courts judgements.
In an appeal letter written on his behalf by his attorney, Tope Temokun and addressed to the governor through state Governor’s Office, Alagbaka, Akure, reads that “Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi is now in a state of total privation and depression consequent upon which his two children had to drop out of school and his wife abandoned him and remarried to another man.
“We, on behalf of Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, hereby passionately appeal to His Excellency to personally wade into this matter for a lasting legacy, to intervene on the side of the needy, the poor, the disprivileged and the victim, to ensure that Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi is paid the judgment sum, so that he could start to pick up the pieces of his life.”
The letter dated November 20, 2024 further reads in parts: “Sir, on the 19th of November 2024, the Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, struck out the Appeal filed by the Ondo State Government against the judgment of the Ondo State High Court, delivered on the 29th of March, 2023, awarding the sum of 30million naira against the Ondo State Government, in favour of Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, a 36 year-old man, who was shot in the leg by the Ondo State Security Network Agency, code-named Amotekun, in Akure.
“Recall sir, that on the 29th of March 2023, the Ondo State High Court, presided over by Justice Omolara Adejumo, gave judgment in the case filed by Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, a 36 year-old Okada rider who was shot in the leg by the Ondo State Security Network Agency, code-named Amotekun, in Akure, on the 9th of August, 2021 and awarded the sum of N30million as damages against the Ondo State Government and the Amotekun Corps, in favour of Mr Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, who is now an amputee. In awarding this sum, the court had condemned in the strongest terms the illegal shooting of the applicant in the leg that led to the amputation of his leg and has now left him crutches.
“Following the delivery of the said Judgment, I as Counsel to Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, in my letter received in the office of the Governor of Ondo State on the 30th of March, 2023, wrote to the Governor of Ondo State, notifying him of the judgment and appealing for compliance with the said judgment. In the same vein, I, by a separate letter, dated 30th of March, 2023 and delivered on the 31st of March, 2023, wrote another letter to the Attorney-General of Ondo State, appealing to the Attorney-General of the State to advise the Government of Ondo State, to comply with the Court’s judgment, saying its against public policy to use state resources to prosecute an appeal against a vulnerable citizen who is now an amputee, after the government agency shot him in the leg.
While the government did not reply to these letters, by the Notice of Appeal dated 3rd of April 2023, the Ondo State government filed an Appeal in No. CA/AK/84/2023, against the judgment.
“Recall Sir, that when this matter came to our attention, we did not resort to litigation. By the letter dated the 24th day of October, 2022, we wrote to the office of the Governor of Ondo State sir, to seek justice and reparation for Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi. Before this letter, by the letter dated 18th of October 2022, we had written to the Commandant of Amotekun Corps in Ondo State, seeking his intervention for Our Client.
When it became apparent that there was no more hope for Our Client as a result of the amputation of one of his legs which has drastically caused his livelihood to take a serious plunge, turning him from a man who was able to personally provide for his family to a man who looks to the hands of strangers for food and now limps on one leg with support of crutches, on the 28th of October, 2022, Mr Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi had to proceed before the Ondo State High Court to seek redress in this matter.
“On the 29th of March, 2023, the Ondo State High Court gave judgment in the case filed by Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi and awarded the sum of THIRTY MILLION NAIRA as damages in favour of Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi.
“Although the latter option is a constitutional right and legally exercisable by any judgment debtor, but we believe the government of Ondo State is not just any judgment debtor but a government whose primary responsibility is the welfare of its citizens and in this case, a citizen who is now an amputee.
“No doubt, it might also be argued that the sum awarded is excessive in this case but the picture will become clearer while the sum is far from being excessive if we introspect on Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi’s state of disability and ask how much is a man’s leg worth?”
