Wale Igbintade
Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal Excessive Courtroom Lagos, has declared the arrest of a businessman, Mr. Dickson Nonso Onuchukwu, by the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) as illegal, unlawful, oppressive and unconstitutional.
The court docket held that his harassment, arrest and detention by the fee had been violations of his rights to dignity of human individuals, private liberty and freedom of motion.
Onuchukwu had in swimsuit quantity FHC/L/CS/679/2018 filed by his lawyer, Mr. Anthony Omaghomi, dragged the EFCC, Inspector Basic of Police (IG) and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to court docket for alleged defamation of character, harassment and illegal detention.
Onuchukwu, who had been arrested a number of instances by the safety businesses, was additionally paraded by the EFCC along with one Mr. Augustine Emenike and a Russian, Mr. Max Lobaty, because the faces behind Swiss Golden Worldwide Firm (SGIC).
The fee, which described the web gold networking enterprise as a Ponzi scheme, had declared on all its social media handles that the sum of N216 million was recovered from the corporate following petitions by some Kano residents’ that they had been scammed of their cash.
However decided to clear his title of any flawed doing, Onuchukwu, who was first arrested by the EFCC in November at his workplace, Swiss Golden Africa, in Ikeja, instructed the court docket that he supplied documentary proof to the EFCC that he was not an affiliate of SGIC.
He instructed the court docket that he was additionally a buyer like these complaining that they had been defrauded, including that the distinction was that he took the enterprise critically and had been networking, rising in it.
Onuchukwu additionally prayed the court docket to award N1billion damages in opposition to the respondents.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aluko held that the EFCC (1st respondent) acted illegally and violated the basic rights of the applicant when it arrested and detained him based mostly on the petitions that weren’t written in opposition to the applicant and the place no grievance was lodged in opposition to him.
Justice Aluko held that “the failure of the first Respondent (EFCC) to put such intelligence info earlier than the court docket for the court docket to judge its declare is an indictment on its half confirming the truth that such intelligence info doesn’t exist as none has been made accessible to the court docket.”
On the EFCC’s declare that it obtained a remand order to detain the applicant, the court docket held that “there isn’t a foundation for the mentioned remand warrant/order as a result of there isn’t a credible proof earlier than the court docket displaying that the petitioners within the petitions lodged any grievance in opposition to the applicant to necessitate acquiring remand order in opposition to him because the title of the applicant was not talked about within the mentioned petitions.
“The first Respondent didn’t place any credible proof earlier than the court docket, to point out any indictment on the applicant to necessitate acquiring remand order in opposition to him or to have justified his arrest, detention and chains of ceaseless invites.
“It’s my view that the first Respondent simply went forward to acquire remand order as a licence to maintain on arresting and detaining the applicant in violation of his elementary rights with out lawful foundation.
“The applicant (Dickson) has known as my consideration to exhibit A connected to his additional affidavit which is a duplicate of police investigation report which reveal that the police had investigated comparable case and located that the Swiss Golden Firm is an organisation that offers on contribution of cash and that such transactions are industrial and civil transactions.
“I’m of the view that issuing all of the chains of invitation letters in opposition to the applicant on the idea of petitions by which his title was not talked about quantity to unwarranted harassment. Equally, the arrest and detention of the applicant based mostly on the mentioned petitions are uncalled for.
“Such arrest and detention represent flagrant violations of the applicant’s elementary rights to dignity of his human particular person, proper to liberty and freedom of motion supplied in sections 34(1), 35(1) and 41(1) CFRN.
“I’ve examined the whole depositions within the 34 paragraphs of the principle affidavit and 15 paragraph additional affidavit of the applicant, together with the displays connected and consequently maintain the view that the a number of invitation letters issued and served on the applicant, his arrest and detention based mostly on the petitions dated 18/10/2017 and 1/11/2017 the place his title was not talked about represent unnecessary and unwarranted violation of his elementary rights.
“The respondents are, subsequently, answerable and liable to the claims of the applicant and by the supply of Part 35(6) CFRN, the applicant is entitled to be compensated by fee of damages and issuance of apology for the violation of his elementary rights.
Consequently, the court docket held that the directive by the respondents that the applicant ought to proceed to report at their workplaces both in Kano, Lagos or wherever on issues referring to the petitions dated 18/10/2017 and 1/11/2017 was oppressive, unlawful and unconstitutional as identical violates applicant’s proper to dignity of human particular person, private liberty and freedom of motion as supplied for below Sections 34 (1), 35 (1) and 41 (1) of the 1999 Structure as amended.
The court docket additionally made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents’ whether or not by themselves , their servants, privies, brokers or howsoever known as or some other particular person or physique performing by way of them or at their occasion or on their behalf from additional instigating any arrest and detention, or maliciously prosecuting the applicant with respect to the subject material giving rise to this motion and significantly relating to any declare or funding made immediately by anyone or group of individuals to Swiss golden Worldwide.
In addition to, the court docket ordered EFCC to pay the applicant the sum of N5 million whereas the Inspector Basic of Police and the Commissioner Police, Lagos State had been ordered to pay N2 million to the applicant.
As well as, the court docket ordered respondents to concern public apology in any of the nationwide newspapers broadly circulated significantly in Lagos and Kano States to the applicant for the unwarranted violation of his elementary human rights.
