Businessman Drags NDLEA To Court

A Lagos businessman, Mr. Ifeanyi Nwosu, whose journey from Lagos to Austria was disrupted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has slammed a N5.7 million suit on the anti-drug agency.

Joined as co-defendant is an operative of the agency simply called Babi with service number 35649.

In an amended statement of claim filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, on behalf of the plaintiff by a Lagos lawyer, Greg Okafor, the plaintiff averred that due to the nature of his business and strong clientele abroad he frequently travels for business meetings and arrangement.

Nwosu averred that due to the scheduled business meeting and arrangement which he had in Vienna Austria, he was billed to travel to Vienna through Qatar Airways on the 27 August, 2011.

On the said date,  the plaintiff arrived at Murtala Mohammed International Airport early for check in. He said he surrendered himself to all  security checks, including NDLEA as he was duly searched like other passengers.

Thereafter, the plaintiff waited at the departure hall for more than one hour after undergoing the security and other checks until the boarding for the flight was announced.

However, after boarding had been completed, passengers had been seated and the airline’s head count was in progress which was by then about less than seven minutes to departure, an NDLEA operative called Babi came into the aircraft and ordered the plaintiff to come with him for an undisclosed check.

The plaintiff being a regular traveler said this practice was rather strange to him. He was consequently dragged out of the airline like a criminal.

He was detained for more than 25 minutes at the NDLEA office by Mr. Babi before being asked to pass through a scanning machine without any finding and was allowed to leave after the aircraft would have been air borne for about twenty minutes.

The plaintiff averred further that due to the unguarded act of Babi he was prevented from travelling as scheduled and because he had boarded the aircraft, the airline refused to reschedule his flight.

In view of this development he was compelled to approach British Airways who could only accommodate him at a very high fare. He got to Vienna after two days of the scheduled business meeting  which had then been cancelled at his instance with excruciating alternatives of  either to pay for the return tickets of an engineer from China whom he was supposed to meet or to travel to China from Vienna.

He alleged that the action of Babi led him to incur expenses in addition to the discomfort.

Mr. Ifenayi Nwosu, while claiming the sum of N5,788,996 as general damages, is also urging the court to declare the action of Babi as illegal malicious, unjustifiable and unconstitutional.