Pubdate: Thu, 10 Apr 2014
Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/914
Author: Justin Davenport, Crime Editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

NIGERIAN ENVOY SUES POLICE AFTER MISTAKEN CANNABIS RAID

A FORMER member of the Nigeria High Commission is suing Scotland Yard 
for raiding his London home after police suspected it was a cannabis factory.

Ikechukwu Nwokike, the former minister and head of political affairs 
at the commission, and his family are suing the Met for UKP250,000, 
claiming that officers twice entered their home illegally, causing distress.

Scotland Yard has apologised for raiding the house in Barnet in 2010 
after it was suspected of being a cannabis factory when a police 
helicopter's thermal camera picked up high heat levels coming from the roof.

However, officers found that the dipl omat had turned up the heating 
because his family were cold.

On a second occasion, less than a month later, the Met said that 
officers investigating a murder entered the house after noticing the 
garden gate, front door and a window were open and feared that it was 
being burgled.

The family claims that officers were discovered going through 
documents in Mr and Mrs Nwokike's bedroom.

Court papers lodged with the High Court say that officers involved in 
the first raid noted that the house had screened windows, a CCTV 
camera and a "shabby" appearance. Mr Nwokike says "the premises have 
CCTV as they are a diplomatic mission and are not shabby".

Mr Nwokike and his wife Stella were not apparently not present for 
the first raid but their sons Emmanuel and Onyekachukwu were 
handcuffed and their teenage daughter Shirley hid upstairs and 
allegedly tried to jump out of a window to escape the officers.

The family, who are thought to be back in Nigeria, say that because 
the home was a diplomatic residence, the raid was unlawful even 
though police had a warrant. They are claiming reputational damage, 
which Mr Nwokike says led to him earning less on his retirement, and 
post-traumatic stress disorder.

In its defence, the Met admits officers illegally "trespassed" on 
both occasions, but claims this was done in "good faith". It admits 
that the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 made the property 
"inviolable", but points out that otherwise "the actions of the 
police officers described... would have been lawful".

At the time, the Met and the Foreign Office apologised and the Met 
says the errors warrant "nominal damages" because the illegality of 
its actions had been admitted and an apology made. The force says 
that the family initially demanded UKP1.6 million in compensation. 
The Met said it was contesting the claim and the action was ongoing.
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