The Management of The Daily Times Nigeria (DTN) has instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against Senator Ikechukwu Obiora, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim and Deputy Inspector General of Police, H. M Dagala, over the unlawful detention of five members of staff of DTN.
In a suit marked No.FHC/ABJ/CS/70/18 filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja and assigned to Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, the detained DTN workers: Tinuola Ashiru, (Assistant Manager, Human Resources); Ayodele Ibitoye (Accountant); Afolabi Adeboye (Graphics Designer); Marvelous Eyoh Effiong (Graphics Designer) and James Akingbade Olagoke (Advert Officer), are demanding for N200 million as general damages for their unlawful incarceration.
The detained DTN workers are also seeking for the said N200 million damages as compensation for their illegal detention and incarceration in violation of their rights as enshrined by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The five DTN workers were arrested on Friday, January 15, 2018 by six riot policemen and detained at the SARS office in Ikeja, Lagos without any court order.
The DTN workers spent the night at the SARS office in Ikeja and were later brought to Abuja in a rickety vehicle on Saturday, January 16, 2018. They have since been detained at Area 10 Police Division in Abuja.
The fundamental enforcement suit which was filed on their behalf by their lawyers, Rosemary Onu and Uche Amulu, was brought pursuant to Order 11, Rule 1, 2 and 3 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rule, 2009.
The DTN workers are asking the court to take a judicial notice of the fact that their fundamental rights to freedom, liberty and dignity to life have been grossly violated by the Police, acting at the prompting of Senator Obiora, to detain them for seven days without any court order.
The DTN workers (the plaintiffs ) are therefore seeking for an order of the court to declare that the invasion of DTN in Agidingbi, Lagos, man-handling, arrest, bungling and detention of them by officers of the IGP upon the overt procurement and sponsorship of Senator Obiora without any warrant or order of court constitutes a reckless infringement of their fundamental rights guaranteed and protected by sections 35(1), (4) and (5), 34(1)(a) and 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Besides, the DTN workers are asking the court to hold that they are entitled to their rights to dignity and human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, freedom of movement, private and family life.
The plaintiffs also want the court to declare as wanton, illegal and unknown to law the actions of the IGP’s officers upon the overt sponsorship and procurement of Senator Obiora on Friday, January 19, 2018 when riot police policemen of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Squad), Scorpion Division, Ikeja, Lagos State, without a warrant or an order of court, raided the office of the DTN at Agidingbi, Ikeja, beat them up, arrested them and bungled them into their Hillux van and took them away to unknown destination.
In a 28-paragraph Affidavit in support of the Originating summons, the plaintiffs, who are gainfully employed with the DTN with no criminal records, averred that six riot policemen of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Scorpion Division, Ikeja, Lagos, armed to the teeth and without warrant or court order on January 19, 2018 invaded DTN’s office and shut operations down, arrested them and carted away computers and vital documents at the prompting, sponsorship of Senator Obiora.
In the Affidavit deposed to by Ms. Blessing Obi, the deponent claimed that the DTN workers are currently being held in chronic detention by police officers of the IGP upon the procurement and instigation of Senator Obiora.
Ms. Obi, a front desk officer of the DTN, said she verified from the Operational office that, “The six riot policemen wore bulletproof vests and stormed the newspaper premises in a Hillux van and shut the entrance gate of the DTN Complex, thereby preventing any movement in and/or out of the premises and thereafter demanded that the people in the premises identified themselves.
‘’That the riot policemen shoved those carrying DTN identity cards to one side whereas those that came to transact businesses were harassed and turned away.
‘’That the riot policemen ordered the said Front Desk Officer, Adamma Ikeme, to lead them to the office of the chairman but she politely asked them for warrant of arrest or search but the officers declined, informing her that the operation was an order from the Police Headquarters, Abuja.
‘’That the said Adamma Ikeme also politely told the police officers that her scope of duties did not extend beyond the front desk, which answer apparently infuriated the police officers who then seized her phones and those of other staff of the company singled out the five workers, manhandled and ruffled them and bungled them into the white Hillux van which they came with.
‘’That the police officers also ransacked the whole premises and took some vital documents and computers away.
‘’That the officers were fully armed with AK-47 rifles. That the incident lasted for about two hours and when the five workers offered to know the reason for their arrest, the police officers loudly said that they would “know when they meet Senator Ikechukwu Obiora at the station”, adding that it was a ‘big man fight’.
The DTN workers are therefore asking court to declare that their arrest, detention and humiliation, harassment and manhandling by Obiora, IGP and Dagala over issues on company ownership without an order of court or belief that they committed any offence and without any order of court or warrant constitutes infringement of their fundamental rights as guaranteed by the constitution.
They are further asking the court to hold that the actions of IGP, Dagala’s men at the office premises of the DTN in Lagos on Friday, January 19, 2018 was illegal, kangaroo, wanton and reprehensible.
The matter is expected to come up today (Thursday) before Justice Dimgba.
The post Daily Times Sues Sen Obiora, IGP, DIG Dagala Over Unlawful Detention of 5 Workers appeared first on Independent Nigeria.
Daily Times Sues Sen Obiora, IGP, DIG Dagala Over Unlawful Detention of 5 Workers
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