One Ubaka Omeke, a subsistent farmer, has reportedly sued the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, over an alleged illegal detention and harassment, following a land dispute.
Vanguard reports that Omeke is claiming “N50 million from the defendants as exemplary, punitive, aggravated and general damages against the defendants/ respondents for their infringement of his constitutional and fundamental rights.”
In the fundamental rights’ enforcement suit by his counsel, Emmanuel Onaeze, at the Federal High Court, Enugu, Omeke, said that he had been illegally detained at both the Divisional Police Headquarters and Zone 9 Headquarters of the Police in Umuahia over a civil matter.
Joined as defendants in the suit are Assistant Inspector General, AIG, Zone 9, Umuahia, Abia State and Willian Onoja, Chukwudi Onoja and Sunday Onoja, who hail from Aji, Enugu Ezike in Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Omeke, in a 23-point affidavit in support of the suit, said he was detained at the police station, Ogrute, from where he was transferred to Umuahia, where he was detained for six days based on frivolous petition written against him by the son of William Onoja, Chukwudi without being charged to court, he had been in hiding since September 2015, as the respondents had been “using policemen and thugs to harass, intimidate, trail and chase me in order” to take possession of his land.
Arguing that the police had “no jurisdiction to dabble into land dispute but have decided to descend into the arena of conflict due to extraneous interest,” he therefore wants the court to order a perpetual injunction restricting them from further harassing and intimidating him.
According to Omeke, his arrest and detention restricted his freedom of movement and subjected him to physical and psychological torture, stressing that those constituted a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights which he allegedly tagged illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
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