11th November, 2010
A Lagos lawyer, Chizoba Christian Akabuike, has slammed a N20 million suit on the Inspector-General of Police for unlawful violation of his fundamental human right.
Also joined as co-defendants in the suit are Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos; Commissioner of Police, Lagos; SP Elhenbert Nsegbule, Barrister Odinaka Obiora, Okwuchukwu Cece Jackson, Chris Uwa and Paul Egbo Ngene.
In an affidavit sworn to by the applicant Chizoba Christian Akabuike, it was alleged that sometime in 2009, he was instructed by the duo of Okwuchukwu Cece Jackson and Chris Uwa to source and acquire for them a landed property at FESTAC Town in Lagos, but there was delay in payment and by the time they paid N30 million, someone else had purchased the land.
Consequently, he used wise counsel to acquire another property with the same features but were not satisfied with the newly acquired land and instructed him to re-sell the land and demanded for immediate payment while the land had not been sold.
Seventeen million naira was, however, refunded, leaving an outstanding balance of N13 million, but before this, they had forced him to write a cheque of N30 million on their behalf.
On 11 September, 2009, he averred further that he was arrested and taken to Zone 2 Police Command on the allegation that he was owing N13 million and issued a dud cheque. He was subsequently detained till 14 September, 2009, when he undertook to pay in three monthly instalments, but was unable to pay as he had not been able to dispose of the land and was forced to pay N1 million withdrawn from his account.
On 14 May this year, he was again arrested and since then, his life was been threatened.
In view of this, while demanding for N20 million as compensation and exemplary damages, he also urged the court not only to declare his arrest and detention unlawful, but also restrain the police from further arrest.
However, in a joint counter-affidavit by the Inspector-General of Police and the AIG, Zone 2 Police Command, sworn to by Sergeant Christopher Eze of the Criminal Investigation Department of the command, it was averred that on the strength of a petition written to the police by Paul Egbo Ngene, obtaining by false pretence, issuance of dud cheque and threat to life was reported.
Sergeant Eze averred further that all the averrments of Chuzoba Akabuike are lies and after thought because he never brought the facts before the police during investigation of this criminal complaint.
To buttress his averrment, Eze attached to his affidavit, copies of the petition, the statement of Mr. Akabuike and the report of the police investigation.
Sergeant Eze described the applicant’s application as frivolous, vexatious, sentimental and diversionary, aimed at frustrating the police from carrying out their statutory duty and therefore urged the court to dimiss the suit.
Justice Binta Murtala Nyako has adjourned till 6 December, 2010, for further hearing.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 P.M.News