Army, DSS sued for N200m over ‘continued detention’ of Okuama leaders

Two leaders of the Okuama community in Bomadi LGA of Delta state, have filed separate suits challenging their continuous detention by the Nigerian Army.

On March 14, 17 soldiers of the Nigerian Army were killed while on a “peacekeeping mission” in the Okuama community.

After the incident, many parts of the community were destroyed as residents fled their homes.

The claimants — James Oghorokor and Dennis Okugbaye – were said to have been arrested alongside four others by the military between August 18 and 20 and have since been kept in unknown detentions.

The four others arrested are Arthur Ekpekpo, Belvis Adogbo, Anthony Ahwemuria, and Rita Akata.

In the fundamental rights suits marked FHC/WR/CS/84/2024 and FHC/WR/CS/85/2024, filed separately before a federal high court in Warri, Delta state, the claimants are demanding N100 million each as damages for violation of their fundamental human rights.

The Nigerian Army and the Department of State Services (DSS) are the respondents in the suit.

The claimants, through their counsel, Malcolm Omirhobo and Akpokona Omafuaire, are challenging their arrest, detention without trial, and failure to give them access to their lawyers.

They are asking the court for a declaration that the invasion of their homes without due process of law was a flagrant violation of their fundamental rights to private life.

They are also praying the court to declare that the refusal to charge them to court since their arrest on August 19 and the failure to grant them access to their lawyers is also a “violation of their rights to personal liberty and therefore illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional”.

The applicants prayed to the court for the “enforcement of their fundamental rights to their personal liberty, right to private and family life, right to the dignity of their human person, and right to freedom of movement against the respondents”.

They are asking the court to “compel the respondents to release them unconditionally and are seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, their servants, agents, and/or privies from further acts of violating their fundamental human rights”.