The Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has delivered a judgment condemning the unlawful arrest and detention of a Nigerian event promoter, Jude Henry Osagbai, over a civil artist performance contract. The ruling, delivered on July 18, 2025, by Hon. Justice H.I.O. Oshomah, reaffirms the constitutional limits of police involvement in private contractual disputes and underscores the judiciary’s role in protecting fundamental rights.
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1568/2024, Osagbai, through his lawyer, Ayi-Ekpenyong Imah had dragged the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, Ugochukwu Jude Nwosu (also known as Ugobeatz Empire), and Destiny Ajiboye before the court, alleging that he was unlawfully arrested, detained, and extorted over a failed artist engagement involving popular Nigerian musician Douglas Jack Agu (Runtown).
The dispute arose from a March 6, 2024, agreement for Runtown to headline the “Runtown Live in Turkey 2024” concert scheduled for April 14, 2024, in Istanbul. After Nwosu paid 70 percent of the contract fee, the show was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Dissatisfied, Nwosu petitioned police units in Lagos and Abakaliki, prompting Osagbai’s arrest on May 10 and again from June 6 to 10, 2024.
Osagbai claimed he was compelled to pay ₦3.6 million and ₦4 million to Nwosu under duress, plus ₦950,000 for bail, while also losing personal items. His lawyer, Ayi-Ekpenyong contended that the entire episode amounted to a civil dispute and cited Supreme Court decisions barring the police from debt recovery or enforcement of civil contracts.
Justice Oshomah, in the absence of both parties during the July 8 proceedings, ruled that Osagbai’s constitutional rights under Sections 34, 35, 41, and 44 of the 1999 Constitution were violated. He also referenced Articles 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The court made the following orders:
The judgment also included a 10% post-judgment interest rate, though the specifics were partially obscured due to formatting issues in the court’s release.
Responding to the judgment, counsel to the Applicant, Mr. Ayi-Ekpenyong Imah, Esq., described the judgment as well-considered and in line with well-established principles of law. He added that, through this judgment, the Nigerian court has once again reaffirmed its position as the last hope of the oppressed and the common man.
He noted that despite the concerted efforts by Nigerian courts to combat police brutality and abuse of power, and to protect the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Nigerian citizens, there has been a tremendous increase in cases of human rights violations in Nigeria.
He admonished officers of the Nigeria Police Force to scrutinize petitions carefully before effecting arrests and to refrain from intermeddling in cases of a purely civil nature, no matter how tainted or coloured with criminality by the petitioner.
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