Suspected billionaire
kidnapper, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, a.k.a. Evans, on Wednesday filed a
fundamental rights enforcement action before the Lagos Federal High Court in
Lagos, urging the court to order the police to charge him to court or release
him immediately.
Joined as respondents in
the said suit marked FHC/L/CS/1012/2017 are the Nigeria Police Force,
Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos
State Police Command, in the suit
filed on his behalf by a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, the suspected
kidnapper is seeking a court order directing the respondents to immediately
charge him to court if they had any case against him in accordance with
sections 35 (1) (c) (3) (4) (5) (a) (b) and 36 of the Constitution.
He is on the
alternative seeking for an order compelling the respondents to immediately
release him unconditionally in the absence of any offence that will warrant his
being charged to court.
Evans is contending
that his continued detention by the respondents since June 10, 2017, without
being charged to court or released on bail was an infringement on his
fundamental human rights.
Ogungbeje argued that
the respondents ought to have charged Evans to court in accordance with the
provisions of sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution.
He further argued that
the alleged offence committed by Evans were correspondingly intertwined with
the constitutional safeguards as provided under sections 35 and 36 of the
Constitution.
In a 27-paragraph
affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Evan’s father, Stephen
Onwuamadike, it was averred that the applicant had been subjected to media
trial without any court’s order by the respondents.
Evans’ father further
averred that the media trial and news orchestrated by the respondents had
continued to generate reactions in both print and electronic media without his
son being afforded fair hearing and trial before a court of law.
The deponent also
averred that since his son’s arrest, all his family members had been denied
access to him while media practitioners had been granted unfettered access to
him.
The case has not been
assigned to any judge and no date has been fixed for the hearing.
Copyright PUNCH.
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