Court adjourns till April 27, Kanu’s suit seeking N245b as damages against FG

EMELAM UDO, UMUAHIA.

A Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia presided by Justice Evelyn Anyadike has adjourned till April, 27, 2022, for hearing, a case filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB seeking to enforce his fundamental rights against unlawful expulsion.

The respondents in the suit are: Federal Government, the President and Attorney General of the Federation.

Aloy Ejimakor, lead counsel to Nnamdi Kanu in the suit brought before the Umuahia division of the Federal High is seeking among other reliefs an order mandating respondent to pay the sum of N25Billion to Kanu, being monetary damages claimed by the applicant against the respondents jointly and severally for the physical, mental, emotional, psychological, property and other damages suffered by the applicant as a result of infringements of his fundamental rights by the respondents.

The suit also seeks for a declaration that the arrest of the applicant in Kenya by the Respondents’ agents in Kenya without due process of the law is arbitrary and the respondents enforced disappearance of the Applicant for eight days and their refusal to produce the applicant before a Kenyan Court for the purpose of Applicant’s extradition is illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and amount to infringement of the applicant’s fundamental right against arbitrary arrest, to his personal liberty and to a fair hearing as enshrined and guaranteed under the pertinent provisions of CFRN and the charter.

For a declaration that any criminal prosecution of the Applicant, the purpose of which the Respondents unlawfully expelled the applicant from Kenya to Nigeria is illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and amounts to infringement of Kanu’s right for fair hearing as enshrined under the pertinent provisions of the CFRN and the charter.

Also an order of injunction restraining and prohibiting the respondents from taking further step in any criminal prosecution of the applicant enabled by the said unlawful expulsion of the applicant from Kenya to Nigeria and an order mandating and compelling the respondents to issue an official of Apology to the Applicant for the infringement of his fundamental rights and publication of the said letter of Apology in three National Dailies among other reliefs.

It could be recalled that on 19th January, this year, the High Court of Abia State determined  that portion of violation of Kanu’s fundamental rights that occurred in 2017.

Ejimofor, Kanu’s counsel in an interview with journalists soon after the court sitting said he had made claims that bordered on rendition but the court declined jurisdiction on the grounds that rendition, being related to extradition lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High court.

He said the instant suit is as a result of his considered that a fresh action before the Federal  would be the best route towards addressing this matter of rendition or unlawful expulsion and illegal  impacts on the prosecutorial powers of the Nigerian state.