Nigerian diplomat sues Scotland Yard after mistaken cannabis raid

Abuja, Nigeria – 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.

Officers searched the Barnet home of Ikechukwu Nwokike, the former minister and head of political affairs at the Nigeria High Commission, after a Met helicopter picked up high heat levels above his house with a thermal camera.

He was suspected as high temperatures are needed to cultivate cannabis, but when officers raided the house they discovered the diplomat simply had his central heating turned up high because his family were cold.

No drugs were found.

As a diplomat Mr Nwokike, whose young children were in at the time of the raid, has legal immunity from prosecution or detention.

Mr Nwokike and his wife were not present at the home during the first raid but their sons Emmanuel and Onyekachukwu were handcuffed, while 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.

A police spokesman at the time of the first incident in 2010 said: “We can confirm that a warrant to search for cannabis plants was executed at a home in north London acting on information received from the Met’s air support unit.

A higher than usual heat source had been detected at the premises, which can indicate a cannabis factory.

There were no drugs found on the premises and no arrests were made. Further inquiries traced the heat source to the central heating system.”

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

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

They are claiming reputational damage, which Mr Nwokike says led to a reduced earning on his retirement, and a traumatic stress disorder.

In his defence, the Metropolitan Police 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 error “warrant nominal damages” because the illegality of its actions had been admitted and an apology made. The force says that the family initially demanded £1.6 million in compensation. The Met said it was contesting the claim and the action was still ongoing.