Eight of the 12 released Igboho aides

The 12 aides of Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, have brought a fundamental human rights enforcement action before the Federal High Court Abuja against the Department of State Services for allegedly breaching their constitutional rights serially.

The aides are praying the court for an order granting the sum of N100 million being the aggravated and exemplary damages against the DSS.

Amongst other reliefs, the aides are praying for “a declaration that the applicants have not committed any offence known to law that will warrant intimidation, harassment, and threats of persecution and degradation of their human person by the respondents violating the law.

“A declaration that the detention of the detention of the applicants by the respondent beyond 48 hours as entrenched by the constitution is illegal and violates the applicants right to be tried within a reasonable time.”

They are also seeking a declaration that the media parade of the applicants by the respondent without a court conviction is illegal and unlawful as same violated their fundamental right to dignity of human person, a defamation of their character and right of innocence as provided by the 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended.

When the matter was called up before Justice Obiora Egwuatu on Wednesday, the lawyer representing the aides told the court that at the last adjourned date, they were asked to serve their process on the DSS and that they had already done so.

The DSS’ lawyer, Idowu Awo, informed the court that they have received the process filed by the aides and have also filed their counter-affidavit in response on September 6.

However, Awo informed the court that on September 7, his colleague who was supposed to appear with him in the matter was asked to bring the case file to court.

However, he said the lady boarded a vehicle, which unknowingly to her, belonged to armed robbers, the type commonly referred to as “one chance.”

He stated that she was dispossessed of all her belongings including the case file by the armed robbers.

He also told the court that he had already applied for the Certified True Copy of the processes at the Process Registry and was not with any copy in court to serve the applicants.

Consequently, Awo applied for an adjournment to enable him to obtain the CTC and serve Igboho aides’ lawyer their counter-affidavit.

The aides’ lawyer conceded to the adjournment.

Justice Egwuatu held that the matter would not be concluded during the vacation court which ends in a week.

Following this, he ordered that the matter should be sent back to the court registry for it to be reassigned as it is the custom that when vacation comes to an end, matters before the vacation court would need to be reassigned.