A High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has awarded N500,000 damages against Peace Mass Transit in favour of a passenger, Miss Iyiakaimo Henrietta.
The court, presided over by Justice Elvis Ngene, awarded the damages, having found respondents in the suit numbered HAB /48MC/ 2019 – Peace Mass Transit and its driver, Mr Agbo Chukwukadibia – guilty of assaulting the female passenger, who boarded their bus on May 26, 2019.
THE POINT gathered that the passenger, Iyiakaimo Henrietta, boarded a Peace Mass Transit bus, with plate number, “PMT 934” at their Abakaliki Park, No. 25A, Ogoja Road, Abakaliki, with the intention of traveling to Afikpo, and was given a ticket bearing Front Seat Number 2. But the driver allegedly dragged her down forcefully from the bus, saying that he would not carry a woman in the front seat.
This was in spite of the fact that the seat was allotted to the applicant by the management through her ticket.
Consequently, the passenger filed a suit and sought the following:
“A declaration that forceful eviction and the subsequent denial of the applicant’s right to sit in No 2 Seat of the 1st respondent’s bus in the park premises at No 25A Afikpo Road, Abakaliki, on the 26th day of May 2019, is unconstitutional, unlawful, arbitrary and oppressive, as it constitutes gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental human rights to freedom from discrimination, guaranteed under Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
“A declaration that the acts of assault and battery of the applicant by the 2nd respondent is illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and constitutes assault and battery and is also a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental human rights to the dignity of human person.
“An order of the court directing the respondents to tender an unreserved apology to the applicant by publishing same in Guardian newspaper within two weeks from the judgement. An order of the court to award compensatory damages to the applicant against the respondents jointly and severally in the sum of twenty million naira (N20,000,000).
“An order of the court to award exemplary damages (punitive damage) to the applicant against the respondents jointly or severally in the sum of thirty million naira (N30 ,000,000). And for such further order and orders as the court may deem fit.”
On their parts, the respondents held that they never asked the applicant or any other passenger at all to change his/her sitting position with another male passenger, noting that they treated all passengers as valued customers irrespective of sex, creed, religion etc.
Sequel to the above, the trial judge, Justice Elvis Ngene, held the view that the fundamental right of the applicant not to be discriminated against, as well as her dignity of human person, were violated by the respondents.
To that effect, he awarded in favour of the applicant and against the respondents jointly compensatory and exemplary damages of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000).
