Abdulrasheed Bawa, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has filed a lawsuit against the State Security Service (SSS).
Bawa has notably been in detention since June 14, 2023, without trial.
Background
The suit was filed at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
He is being represented by Barrister Chinedu Oburu of Edu Oburu & Co.
He seeks the court’s intervention to declare his extended detention without trial as unlawful and to secure his immediate release.
The lawsuit, bearing the reference FHC/CS/2108/23, is brought forth under the framework of Order 11, Rules 1, 2, and 3 of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009.
It is also rooted in Sections 35(1)(4)(a), (5)(a)(b), 41(1), and 46 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, and asserts the inherent jurisdiction of the esteemed court.
The lawsuit, filed on October 20, 2023, outlines Mr. Bawa’s plea for the following judicial orders:
“A Declaration that the continued detention of the Applicant from June 14, 2023 till date without Arraignment or Criminal prosecution is a fragrant abuse and violation of his fundamental rights to freedom, liberty and personal dignity.
“An Order directing the Respondent to immediately release the Applicant from custody. “And for further or other Orders as the Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.”
In the supporting affidavit submitted before the court, The legal practitioner made known that Bawa was appointed by the former government to head the EFCC, an institution dedicated to the combat against corruption in Nigeria.
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He said, “That upon arrival at the offices of the Respondent on June 14, 2023, the Applicant was promptly detained.
“That since June 14, 2023 (over 120 days) that the Applicant was detained, he has remained in the Respondent’s detention facility without any criminal charge or trial proffered against him till date.
“That the continued illegal detention of the former Chairman of the EFCC without any charge is an affront and assault on the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“That the continued and indefinite detention of the EFCC chairman without any criminal charge is a necked assault on the Fundamental Rights of the Applicant as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).”
This action, as emphasized by the legal practitioner, has been undertaken in the broader interest of Bawa, the Nigerian public, democracy, the rule of law in Nigeria, and the imperative to sustain the high spirit of the anti-corruption drive.