By Adadainfo
Barr Aloy Ejimakor, Tuesday, filed a law suit against the director-general of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, over his alleged abuse of office in the arrest and rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria last July.
Ejimakor is Kanu’s special counsel. Kanu is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, and currently being detained at the custody of the Department of the State Services over treason charges. However, an Umuahia Federal High ruled that Kanu be restituted because his arrest in Kenya amounted to extraordinary rendition. The court also awarded some damages to him.
Kanu, through Ejimakor, yesterday filed a suit at the High Court of Abia State, Umuahia, asking the court to award him N20bn against the NIA boss for violating his rights, including allegedly detaining him in Kenya for eight days and the torture.
Kanu’s prayers, as filed by Barr Ejimakor, are, “A declaration that the claimant’s arrest and his imprisonment in Nairobi, Kenya, amounted to false arrest and false imprisonment.
“A declaration that the defendant acted in bad faith and/or abused his public office in falsely arresting and falsely imprisoning the claimant at the said location in Kenya.
“An order of the court directing the defendant to pay to the claimant the sum of N20,000,000,000.00 (twenty billion naira only) being general and exemplary damages.
“An order of the court directing the defendant to write and deliver to the claimant, an unreserved personal letter of apology. The letter of apology shall also be prominently and boldly published full-page in two Nigerian newspapers of national circulation, namely: Guardian Newspaper and the Sun.
“An order of the court directing the defendant to pay the cost of this suit.”
Ejimakor argued that, “By falsely arresting and imprisoning the claimant in Kenya, the defendant breached his statutory duty requiring him to arrest and/or imprison the claimant in Kenya only in accordance with law.”
Adadareporters.com reports that the United Nations Human Rights Council, through its Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, earlier rendered a binding Opinion directing the Federal Republic of Nigeria to release Kanu unconditionally and accord him the opportunity of seeking compensation/reparations.
Ejimakor argued further that, “Mr Kanu’s arrest without an arrest warrant and with no explanation as to the reasons for his arrest violated his rights under article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 9 of the Covenant and principles 2, 4, 10, and 36 (2) of the Body of Principles.”
