A
Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed February19 for further mention of
a suit filed by “seven destitute persons” against the Lagos State
Government over what they called inhuman treatment.
The
plaintiffs are Joseph Aniebonam, Osondu Mbuto, Osondu Agwu, Nnenna
Ogbonna, Emily Okoroariri, Friday Ndukwe and Onyeka Ugwu.
The seven instituted the suit for and on behalf of 76 others.
Joined
as respondents are the Attorney General of Lagos State, Ade Ipaye; and
the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Umar Manko.
When the
case was mentioned on Wednesday, the counsel to the plaintiffs, Ugo
Ugwunnadi, told the court that the case was coming up for the first
time.
He informed the court that he had only been served with
court processes by the first respondent (AG), and had yet to receive any
process from the second respondent.
He, therefore, applied for a date for hearing.
The
applicants, had in their motion, asked the court to declare that they,
as Nigerian citizens, were entitled to their fundamental rights as
enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.
They are seeking a
declaration that their arrests and detention in various camps in Lagos
and subsequent “deportation” to Anambra on July 24, 2013, for no
offence, amounted to a serious breach of their fundamental rights.
They
are also seeking an order mandating the respondents to tender a written
apology to them by publishing same in three national newspapers
continuously for 30 days for unlawful and gross violation of their
constitutional rights.
They also want an order directing the
Lagos government to re-integrate the applicants into Lagos State, and a
perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, their agents, and
officers from further deporting or refusing them free entry into the
state.
In addition, the applicants want N1 billion damages jointly and severally for a breach of their rights.
Meanwhile,
the Lagos State government, in its counter-affidavit, contended that
the “transportation” of the plaintiffs was not done out of malice, but
out of genuine intention to re-unite the applicants with their families.
They further averred that the applicants were assisted by the
state government to rejoin their families after pleading that they had
no homes, relatives or businesses in Lagos State.
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