Agency Report,
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, struck out a N20 billion suit filed by the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami.
Mr Kanu, through his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, had filed the suit to demand N20 billion damages for his illegal rendition from Kenya to continue facing his terrorism and treasonable felony charges in June last year.
The illegality of the rendition was the basis for the ruling of the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissing the charges against Mr Kanu on 13 October.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Kanu had sued Mr Malami and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, however, struck out the suit after I.C. Nworgu, who appeared for the IPOB leader, told the court that the plaintiff had resolved to withdraw the suit.
Mr Nworgu said the notice of discontinuance had already been filed.
The application, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1702/2022, was filed pursuant to Order 50, Rules 2(1) of the FHC Civil Procedure Rules, 2019.
NAN reports that Mr Ekwo had, on 27 October, fixed Friday for hearing in the the suit.
Suit
The application, dated and filed on 23 September, had sought “a declaration that the defendants’ arrest and imprisonment of the plaintiff (Kanu) at a location in Kenya and the subsequent imprisonment of the plaintiff in the aircraft that conveyed him from Kenya to Nigeria amounted to false arrest and false imprisonment.
“A declaration of this honourable court that the defendants acted in bad faith and/or abused their public offices in falsely arresting and falsely imprisoning the plaintiff at the said location in Kenya and said aircraft.
”An order of this honourable court directing the defendants to, jointly and severally, pay to the plaintiff the sum of N20,000,000,000.00 (Twenty Billion Naira only) being general and exemplary damages.
“An order of this honourable court directing the defendants to separately write and deliver to the plaintiff, an unreserved personal letter of apology.”
He urged the court to order the defendants to issue him letters of apology “prominently and boldly published full-page in two Nigerian newspapers of national circulation”.
He also sought an order of the court directing the defendants to pay the cost of the suit, among others.
Mr Kanu fled the country in September 2017 after an invasion of his home by the military in Afara-Ukwu, near Umuahia, Abia State.
The federal government arrested and brought Mr Kanu back to Nigeria in June last year.
He was brought back to Nigeria to continue facing charges arising from his separatist activities pending against him.
The Federal High Court in Abuja where Mr Kanu is being tried ordered his remand in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS).
But a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Oludotun Adefope-Okojie had on 13 October dismissed the terrorism and treasonable felony charges against the leader of IPOB.
The court had ordered Mr Kanu’s release from detention after striking out a seven-count charge pending before Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Mr Adefope-Okojie held that Mr Kanu’s forcible extradition from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 was a breach of local and international laws.
Instead of complying with the appellate court’s decision ordering Mr Kanu’s unconditional release, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
But the Court of Appeal on 28 October stayed the execution of its judgement pending the hearing of the Federal government’s appeal.
(NAN)