ECOWAS Court Orders Immediate Release of
Dasuki
…. Fines Nigeria N15mn over Unlawful
Detention
The Economic
Community of West Africa State (ECOWAS) Court has ordered immediate release of
former National Security Adviser, Colonel Muhammadu Sambo Dasuki from detention
where he has been kept without trial since Decembe 2015.
The regional
court held that the detention of Dasuki violated both national and
international laws on the right of persons and citizens to freedom of liberty.
In a
judgement by the court and delivered by Justice Friday Chijioike Nwoke, the
ECOWAS Court imposed a fine of N15,000,000 against Nigeria as compensatory
damages to the former National Security Adviser for the deprivation of his
freedom to liberty and the deprivation of his properties.
In a
judgment that lasted over one hour, the regional court dismissed the
allegations of unlawful possession of firearms and economic crimes allegedly committed
by Dasuki adding that the Nigeria government missed the track because the
applicant applied before the court for the enforcement of his breached and
contravention of fundamental right.
Justice
Nwoke said that even if the applicant had committed a crime the law still has
it that due process of the law must be observed in his trial adding that it is an
established fact that the applicant was put on trial in three different Nigeria
High Courts and was granted bails by the courts.
The court
said that the action of the Nigerian government in subjecting the Ex-NSA into
the detention without trial is condemnable because criminality has not been
established against him.
Justice
Chijioke further said that the Nigerian government took laws into its hands and
made mockery of the rule of law by arresting the applicant without warrant of
arrest or warrant of detention when he had legally being granted bail by the appropriate
courts.
According to
the court detention order must be made in writing and must be delivered to the
detainees adding that in the instance case none of such was obtained and
delivered to Dasuki by the Federal Government before arresting and executing
and forcefully took away properties of the applicant in his house in Abuja and
Sokoto.
The court
also dismissed the claim of the Federal Government that Dasuki was arrested and
detained in his own interest. Adding that the claim was an assault to the
Nigerian Constitution and other international laws because there was no iota of
evidence placed before the court that applicant applied for security
protection.
Beside, the
ECOWAS Court said that the claim of Nigerian Government that Dasuki was
detained on his own interest was against the claim made by the same government
that the applicant was arrested and detained because he constituted a security
threat to the Nigerian nation and having also committed some Economic Crimes.
The court
held that the claim that Dasuki was detained in his own interest was
unreasonable and that Nigeria being under a democratic government where the
rule of law is expected to be protected ought to act within the ambit of the
law since every nation is subject to the rule of law.
The Judge
said: “Having perused the case before us, we have come to the conclusion that
the re-arrest and detention of the applicant after he had been granted bail by
three courts since last year make mockery of the rule of law. Executive arm
should not interfere with the judiciary”
“Even if the
applicant has committed crimes of whatever nature, the principle of innocence
must be respected and the fact that he has been charged to court does not disentitled
him to freedom of liberty… Court must rise to their responsibilities and
prevent executive lawlessness.
“It is the
applicant today; it could be anybody tomorrow. There is no legal basis for the re-arrest
of the applicant other than to circumvent the bails granted by courts. We have
no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that the purported search warrant
claimed to have been obtained by the Nigerian government was an afterthought
aimed at perverting the cost of justice because the so-called search warrant
was not certified and to worsen the case the defendant claimed that it could
not serve the same search warrant on the applicant”
“For the
avoidance of doubt, anybody who commit crimes must be put on trial before an appropriate
court but in doing so, the state must respect local and international laws in
the prosecution of such persons.”
The court
therefore declared that the arrest, detention and the continued detention of
Dasuki since December 2015 without warrant of arrest was unlawful, arbitrary
and done in contravention of both local and international laws especially
Article 5 and 6 of the African Charter on People’s and Persons’ Rights to freedom
of Liberty.
The court
also ordered that the invasion of Dasuki’s house in Abuja and Sokoto and forceful
removal of his personal properties violated all the relevant laws, especially the
Constitution of Nigeria under Section 37 and 44.
The court
therefore ordered immediate release of Dasuki and payment of N15,000,000.00 as
compensation to him for his unlawful arrest and detention.
Dasuki had
in March 2015 dragged the Federal Government before the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice over his continued detention
without trial since December 2015.
Dasuki who
was rearrested by the operatives of the Department of State Security Service
(DSS) shortly after perfecting the third bail conditions granted him by three Nigerian
Courts asked the ECOWAS Court to enforce his fundamental right as enshrined in
the African Charter on the People and Human Right.
In the legal
action, the former NSA had asked the ECOWAS Court to declare as unlawful and
unconstitutional and breached of his fundamental right his arrest since last
year without a lawful court order.
The
applicant had also prayed the court to declare action of government in keeping
him in a dehumanising condition after the bails as unlawful and violation of
his right to dignity of human person, privacy and family life guaranteed and
protected right under Section 34 and 37 of the Nigerian Constitution and
Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right and
Article 12 of the Universal of Human Right.
He had also
asked the ECOWAS Court to declare the invasion of his privacy, home, and
correspondence at his Abuja and Sokoto homes between July 16 and 17, 2015
during Ramadan Fasting and forceful and unlawful seizures of his properties
without any lawful order or warrant of a court, constituted a gross violation
of his fundamental right under Section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution and
other relevant laws.
He had therefore
prayed for an order for his release and that of his properties during the
invasion of his houses.
Apart from
seeking for his release to face adequately charges against in courts, Dasuki
also demanded a compensatory damage of N500 million against the government for
its egregious violations of his right as guaranteed under the law.
Reacting to
the Mr. Wale Balogun who stood for Dasuki in Court expressed optimism that the Federal
Government being a major stakeholder and signatories to the protocol of the
ECOWAS Court will obey and implement the orders issued by the court.
By PRNigeria
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