Upon obtaining this afternoon the Certified True Copy of the judgment of the Ondo State High Court awarding the sum of thirty million naira for Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, against the Ondo State Government and Amotekun Corps, on the Amotekun shooting that led to the amputation of his leg, we have written to the governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN.
At this stage the government has just two options, namely: to comply with the judgment of the court by paying Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi the sum awarded by the court; alternatively, the government could also appeal the judgment, on any ground.
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 constitutionally, is the welfare of its citizens and in this case, a citizen who is now an amputee. We also know that the governor of Ondo State will allow good conscience and reason to prevail and will not toe the path of investing the scarce resources of the state to pursue an appeal against it’s poor citizen, who is now without leg.
No doubt, it might 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?
We, on behalf of Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi, hereby appeal and call on His Excellency to personally wade in for a lasting legacy, to ensure that Mr. Oluwasegun Oluwarotimi is paid the judgment sum, so that he could start to pick up the pieces of his life