Man sues Hisbah commission over unlawful arrest

A man, Malam Nuraddeen Shehu, of Talata-Mafara in Zamfara, has filed a suit against the Zamfara State Hisbah Commission, claiming N5million as damages for his ‘unlawful arrest and ridicule.’

In a writ, filed by his Counsel, Mr. Pwahomdi Lasco, at the Zamfara State High Court, the plaintiff claimed that men of the commission broke into his apartment in Talata-Mafara and assaulted him and his 17-year-old sister without any charge.

The counsel stated that after assaulting the victims on November 11, 2013, the commission’s operatives, numbering seven, hand-cuffed his clients and took them to the Talata-Mafara office of the commission, where they were later released without any charge.

The lawyer stated that during the fracas, his client’s personal belongings, including a laptop computer and two mobile phones, all valued at N362, 000 got lost.

He, therefore, prayed the court to punish the Hisbah agents for “unlawful arrest, battery and assault.”
When contacted the Chairman of the Hisbah Commission, Dr. Atiku Zawiyya, said the case was being handled by the Talata-Mafara office of the commission and that he could not comment on it.