Court Asks Osun Mall Justrite To Pay 1Million Damages To Customer Over Wrong Theft Accusation

An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has awarded the sum of N1 million as damages against Justrite shopping mall in Osogbo for wrongly accusing a customer of theft.

The court also ordered the mall to write a formal letter of apology to the female customer, Adeola Ikotun who was said to have been embarrassed and harassed by agents and staff of the mall who raised false alarm of theft on her and also searched her private part without finding any incriminating item on her.

After suffering the public ridicule on December 22, 2019, Ikotun dragged Justrite Limited to the court and demanded N10 million as damages and a public apology in two national newspapers, claiming that her character was defamed by the business outfit.

In the suit marked HOS/42/2020, the plaintiff (Ikotun) had argued that one of the female security agents of the shopping mall dipped her hand inside her private part not minding that she was experiencing her menstrual period

She further asked the court to compel the defendant (Justrite Limited) to pay her the sum N180,000.00 (One Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) being the cost she incurred as payment for medical bills and also pleaded with the court to mandate the firm to pay her the sum of N400.000.00 (Four Hundred Thousand Naira) being cost she incurred for the prosecution of this case.

Delivering his judgement, on Wednesday, the presiding judge, S. O. Falola, held that Ikotun was defamed after the anti-theft device of the shopping mall was activated, a situation that elicited gathering of crowd around her thus making some eyewitnesses to have wrong impression about her character.

“Everything considered, I hold that the case of the Plaintiff partially succeeds and I enter Judgement as follows: