An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has ordered the Ondo State Government to pay N25 million in damages to a mother whose infant son disappeared from a government-run juvenile home after being placed in state custody for care.
In a judgment that raises fresh concerns about accountability within child welfare institutions, Justice Oluyemi Osadebay held that the state government and the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development were negligent in the handling of the child, identified as Omoniyi Oluwaseun.
The court ruled that the disappearance of the child from the Ondo State Juvenile Home caused severe emotional and psychological trauma to the claimant, Mrs. Opeyemi Adegboyega, and awarded damages totaling N25 million, in addition to legal costs.
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Court documents showed that Adegboyega had entrusted her three-month-old son to the care of the Ministry of Women Affairs while receiving treatment at the Ondo State Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
According to evidence presented before the court, the arrangement was made to allow the mother undergo treatment and recovery under medical supervision.
Trouble began after her discharge from the hospital. Upon returning to reclaim custody of her child, officials reportedly informed her that the baby had died and that the remains had been deposited at a government hospital mortuary.
However, her visit to the State Specialist Hospital reportedly revealed that no infant’s body had been received from the Ministry of Women Affairs, deepening concerns over the child’s whereabouts.
Unable to obtain satisfactory explanations from the authorities, Adegboyega approached the court through her counsel, Oju Kekemeke, seeking legal redress against the Ondo State Government and the Ministry of Women Affairs.
In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Osadebay rejected the explanations provided by the defendants, describing their evidence as “unbelievable, unconscionable, unsubstantiated, untrue and untenable.”
The court found that the government agencies failed in their duty of care after taking responsibility for the child.
“This court hereby declares that the claimant has suffered excruciating pain, anguish, personal loss and psychological trauma as a result of the disappearance of Omoniyi Oluwaseun from the Ondo State Juvenile Home under the supervision of the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs,” the judgment stated.
The court consequently awarded N10 million as exemplary and aggravated damages and an additional N15 million as general damages for emotional distress, psychological trauma and personal loss suffered by the claimant.
Justice Osadebay also awarded N200,000 as the cost of litigation.
The ruling is expected to intensify calls for greater oversight of child protection institutions across Nigeria, particularly facilities managed by state governments.
Legal analysts say the judgment sends a strong message to public institutions entrusted with the care of minors, reinforcing the principle that government agencies can be held liable where negligence results in harm or unexplained disappearances.
The Ondo State Government had not publicly reacted to the judgment as of the time of filing this report.
