The rights enforcement suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/32/22, was filed on her behalf by Chief Sebastine Hon (SAN). The litigation is seeking redress over violation of her late husband’s right to life as enshrined in Articles 4, 5, 6 and 23(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

By the application, the widow wants an order for the Federal Government to pay her $2million, being the sum the late Salem would have, if alive till expiration of his life expectancy for her maintenance and that of their little daughter, Avanna Salem.

She is also praying for an order that the defendant should pay her $10 million compensatory damages for the mental and psychological anguish caused her, together with the permanent deprivation of her right to enjoy the love of her life, owing to the unlawful and unconstitutional murder of her husband, Tordue.

The suit further reads: “An order that the defendant should pay her the sum of $5 million aggravated damages for the illegal detention, torture and premeditated murder of the late Tordue Salem by officers of the Nigeria Police Force, who allegedly acted in reprehensible and unlawful manner/ for willful negligence on their part of the police and who refused, failed or neglected to intervene swiftly to save the life of the deceased.

“Interest at the rate of 25 per cent yearly on any sum/all sums of money awarded by the court as monetary judgment, calculated from the date of judgment till the judgment sum is fully liquidated.”

The plaintiff equally wants a declaration that the “Federal Government, through its police officers, acted in breach of provisions of the African Charter when it arrested, detained and tortured Tordue Salem to death and thereafter falsely claimed, with the active support/conspiracy of the staff/employees of Wuse General Hospital, Abuja (a government-owned hospital), that the deceased was/had been knocked down by a motor vehicle driven by a hit-and-run driver, Mr. Clement Itoro.”

“A declaration that the defendant’s police officers were willfully negligent, in that they failed to proactively take steps to secure the life of Tordue Salem (deceased), when one Mr. Clement Itoro reported to them at a police check point, which was not far from the scene of a motor accident, about hitting the deceased with his car, which resulted in his death.”

The widow claimed in the court processes that: “Even though the Department of State Services acknowledged receipt of a petition written to them concerning the disappearance of the late Tordue Salem, it never formally communicated with the family of the deceased.

“Rather, one of its operatives, Mamman Nasir, provided his GSM number to the family of the deceased, to be reached at any time; but on each occasion he was called, he would say this was a possible kidnap case, hence the family should exercise some patience.”

She stated that a “Chief Superintendent of Police, Bimbo Oyewole, from FCT Command, who led a team of investigators to unravel the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the late Tordue, on November 5, 2021, called the relatives to his office, where they were informed that the police were still checking some mortuaries in the Abuja to see if they could find the corpse of Henry Tordue Salem.”

Mrs. Salem added: “One week to a press briefing organised by the police, CSP Oyewole informed the family that following a lead, the police had arrested one Clement Itoro, who had killed the late Henry Tordue Salem in a hit-and-run manner.”

On November 11, 2021, according to court papers, the police’s “Intelligence Response Team,” Abuja called the family and informed them through their commander that the force had confirmed the hit-and-run incident to have happened on October 13, 2021, leading to Salem’s death. No date has, however, been fixed for hearing of the case.