A telecoms guru, Mr. Adegoke Ayoola, has sued the Inspector-General of Police for unlawful arrest and detention, in respect of civil and commercial transactions. Ayoola filed the case at the Federal High Court, Abuja on Monday, October 5, 2020, through his lawyer, human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, claiming that the police was directly aiding and abetting his opponents to take over his company and commercial interests.

Sued as defendants also are the DIG, FCID, DSP Funmi Eguaoje, who is the police team leader, SC Connections Ltd, Mr. Ali Joda, Mohammed Bashir Ahmed, Taiwo Abiodun, Sulaiman Abubakar and Moses Pila.

In a 58-paragraph affidavit deposed to in support of the suit, Mr. Ayoola stated that he formed a partnership with some businessmen to handle telecoms interconnections between the telecoms operators, with a profit ratio of 58/42% and he has been running the company as its Managing Director since 2010 until sometimes in July 2019, when he travelled abroad for his medical check-up and some of his partners claimed to have held an illegal board meeting to remove him as a signatory to the bank accounts of the company.

Ayoola further stated that he filed Suit No. FHC/L/CS/29/2020 at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court in order to challenge decisions purportedly taken at the said Board meeting but instead of defending the suit in court, his partners formed an alignment with some officers of the Nigeria Police Force in Abuja, through a frivolous petition, leading to his arrest on September 3, 2020 and his subsequent detention for seven days in Abuja, with other suspects who had no face masks, no sanitizers and they were not observing any COVID-19 safety protocols.

Whilst he was in police custody, the police forced him to agree to settle with his opponents, who were allowed to take over his interrogation and interview, and all the while dictating to the police and demanding documents from him.

At age 61 and with underlying health conditions, Mr. Ayoola stated that he is scared for his health and that the police were deliberately surrendering their powers to his opponents to harass, intimidate and bully him into yielding his interests, investments and years of labour, to them.

Consequently, Ayoola has moved the Court to declare his arrest and detention as illegal, null and void, for an order to restrain the police from setting the law against him in respect of civil matters, for an order to preserve his liberty and life and five hundred million naira damages, amongst others. He is contending that under and by virtue of section 8 (2) of the Adminstration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and section 32 (2) of the newly-enacted Police Act, 2020, the police cannot arrest any citizen for contractual or civil matters. It is part of the applicant’s case that his opponents have boasted openly to him that they were well connected with the law enforcement agencies, such as the EFCC, DSS and NSA and they have vowed to use their connections even up to the Presidency, to deal with him and to force him to relinquish his interests in the business to them.

In a personal letter addressed to and received in the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Adegboruwa, SAN, urged the IGP to call the team handling the case to order to obey the civil authority and integrity of the court.

The reliefs being sought in the suit are as follows:

A. A DECLARATION that the Respondents are not entitled to arrest, detain or in any other manner restrict the liberty of the Applicant in respect of civil and commercial transactions, in flagrant violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights, guaranteed under sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

B. A DECLARATION that the arrest and detention of the Applicant by the 1st–3rd Respondents at the instigation and prompting of the 4th-9th Respondents, from September 3, 2020 to September 10, 2020, in Ondo State and F.C.T Abuja respectively, in respect of civil and commercial transactions, constitute a flagrant violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 34, 35, 36 and 46 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12 & 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and therefore are illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

C. A DECLARATION that the Respondents are not entitled, under section 264 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2011, to apply for and obtain any remand warrant, from any court, against the Applicant for the purpose of keeping him in detention and custody in respect of civil and commercial transactions, in flagrant violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 34, 35, 36 and 46 (1) the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12 & 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

D. A DECLARATION that the Applicant is entitled to his right to life as guaranteed under section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, without let or hindrance or threat from the Respondents, through unlawful arrest, detention or malicious prosecution.

E. A DECLARATION that the Applicant is entitled to move freely in any part of Nigeria, without let or hindrance from the Respondents in the exercise of his fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 34, 35, 37, 38, 40 & 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 & 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

F. A DECLARATION that by virtue of sections 36 (1) and 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the Respondents, whether acting individually and/or jointly, are not entitled in law to compel the Applicant to submit to them or anyone of them or otherwise forcibly take custody of any of the Applicant’s documents which are to be used for prosecution of Suit No FHC/L/CS/559/2020 already pending in Court, in respect of the same subject matter of the unlawful arrest and detention of the Applicant.

G. A DECLARATION that under and by virtue of section 8 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and section 36 (12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, the business transactions of the 4thRespondent in respect of the Joint Venture Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding between the 4thRespondent and Alok-Ignyt Inc. are civil and contractual and cannot be deployed by the Respondents for the violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicant through unlawful arrest, detention or malicious prosecution.

H. A DECLARATION that the 4th-9th Respondents are not entitled to set the law in motion against the Applicant through the 1st -3rdRespondents, in respect of the Joint Venture Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding between the 4thRespondent and Alok-Ignyt Inc. in flagrant violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and Articles 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

I. AN ORDER directing the Respondents to forthwith cease and abstain from applying for a remand order against the Applicant over matters pertaining to civil transactions.

J. AN INJUNCTION restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agent, officers or otherwise howsoever from violating the fundamental rights of the Applicant through unlawful arrest, detention and malicious prosecution.

K. AN INJUNCTION restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from further arresting, detaining, persecuting, trailing or in any other manner taking steps that may jeopardize the liberty, freedom and life of the Applicant except and in a manner permitted and sanctioned by law.

L. AN INJUNCTION restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from further constituting a threat or hindrance to the life, human dignity, personal liberty and freedom of the Applicant through arrest or detention or remand for the purpose of preventing or disturbing his free movement in any part of Nigeria.

M. AN INJUNCTION restraining the Respondents, whether acting individually and/or jointly from compelling the Applicant to submit to them or anyone of them or in any manner whatsoever forcibly taking possession of any of the Applicant’s documents which are to be used for the prosecution of Suit No FHC/L/CS/559/2020 in respect of the same subject matter of the unlawful arrest and detention of the Applicant.

N. FIVE HUNDRED MILLION NAIRA ONLY being general, aggravated, special and exceptional damages against the Respondents, jointly and/ or severally for the violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicant.

O. AN ORDER directing the Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever to forthwith release the international passport of the Applicant to him.

No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

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