Unlawful detention: Dasuki floors FG at ECOWAS Court, judge says FG’s action misplaced, misconceived, frivolous

The Federal Government received hard knocks on Monday over its continued detention of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
Justice Friday Chijoke Nwoke of the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) Court in Abuja dismissed outrightly the objection of the government against Dusuki’s suit on the ground that the government action was misplaced, misconceived, frivolous and lacked merit.
Dasuki won the first leg of his court action, challenging his alleged unlawful arrest and detention without trial since December last year by the federal government.
The court also ruled that it has jurisdiction to entertain the suit brought before it by Dasuki for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to liberty and to own properties as enshrined in the provisions of the Nigerian 1999 constitution and African Charter on fundamental rights of persons.
Justice Nwoke, in the unanimous ruling of the three-member panel of the court, held that the claim of government that Dasuki’s case emanated from his trial on certain offences was inappropriate “and being basis for its objection to the applicant’s case in this matter cannot hold water” since the reliefs sought by Dasuki have nothing to do with the ongoing trial at the domestic courts of Nigeria.
The Justices said that in their own opinion, government’s claim that Dasuki ought to have filed contempt charge against the Nigerian government for disobeying court orders that admitted him to bail but flouted by the government cannot be sustained because the case of applicant is not ambiguous, in that it has no root from any criminal trial in any court.
Justice Nwoke said that at any rate, the case of Nigerian government cannot stand in the face of the law because there is no evidence that Dasuki has filed similar pending matter in any international court and that even if he has similar matter in any Nigerian court up to the Supreme Court, such domestic courts cannot have the status of international court as envisaged in the treaty in which Nigeria is a signatory.
“In our opinion, what Dasuki brought before us as a case is an issue for the enforcement of his fundamental rights to liberty and own property and against unlawful arrest, unlawful detention and unlawful seizure of properties without any court order or warrant of arrest.
“From the totality of the issues brought before this court, it is clear and there is no ambiguity that the applicant is seeking enforcement of his right to freedom and not on the issue of his trial for any alleged offence before any Nigerian court”.
Justice Nwoke further said: “therefore, the objection of the government and the request that the case of the applicant in this matter be struck out on the ground of emanating from some criminal matter has no basis, the claims and the request lack merit and are hereby dismissed and we declare that the application of Dasuki is admissible to this court”.
The ECOWAS court said that it was not out to decide the issue of whether the applicant is guilty of the charges against him in the Nigerian courts or not but simply to ascertain whether his fundamental rights to liberty, having been granted bail in criminal matters rearrested since last year and kept in an unknown place constitute an abuse of his rights to freedom.
Dasuki through his lawyers, Mr Robert Emukpoeruo and Wale Balogun, had sued the Federal Government to complain that the invasion of his houses in Abuja, Kaduna and Sokoto last year without any court order or warrant of arrest and even seizure of his properties comprising vehicles, money and documents constituted the abuse of his rights to liberty as enshrined in section 36 and 34 of the 1999 constitution and other international laws where Nigeria is a signatory.
Besides, he complained that the invasion of his house by operatives of government without lawful court order traumatized his 94-year-old father (Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki) who received shock and up till now, has not recovered from the sickness that followed.
Dasuki, therefore, asked the ECOWAS Court to award N500 million compensatory damages in his favour and against Government having been denied access to medical attention in abroad as ordered by a Nigerian court since November last year.
The government, through its lawyer, Mr Tijani Gazali, had objected to Dasuki’s case on the ground that ECOWAS court has no jurisdiction to dabble into the trial of any Nigerian in a Nigerian court and asked the ECOWAS court to strike out Dasuki’s case because it constituted an abuse to the Nigerian courts.
Definite hearing in the matter has been fixed for May 17 and 18, 2016.