Chido Onumah files N150m suit against DSS over arrest

Chido Onumah, coordinator of African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), has filed a suit against the Department of State Services (DSS) over his “unlawful arrest and detention”.

DSS operatives detained Onumah at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on September 29.

Onumah said he was arrested because he wore a T-shirt with the inscription, “We Are All Biafrans”.

In a fundamental human rights suit filed before a federal high court in Abuja on Wednesday, Onumah asked the court to award N150 million cost against the DSS for “violating his rights”.

Among the reliefs sought are:

“A declaration that the arrest and detention of the Applicant at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on the 29” of September 2019 at about 5:00pm to 10:30pm by Officials and/or Agents of the Respondents without lawful cause and without an Order of Court constitutes a violation of his fundamental human rights to dignity of his person, personal liberty, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression as provided in Sections 34, 35, and 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended.

“A declaration that the unlawful seizure of the applicant’s t-shirt and coercion to write an undertaking never to wear the said t-shirt again by Officials and/or
agents of the respondents(DSS) amounts to a violation of his right to own property and his right to freedom of expression as contained in section 39 and 44 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended.

“A declaration that the mental and physical trauma which the applicant had to endure during the period of time he was held in detention by officials and/or agents of the respondents constitutes a violation of his right to dignity of his person as provided in section 34 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigena as amended.

“An order of mandamus compelling the 1st respondent to carry out a thorough and in-depth investigation and prosecution of all its Officers and/or agents directly and remotely responsible for the applicant’s unlawful arrest and violation of his fundamental rights.”

The case is yet to be assigned to a judge.