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Fani-Kayode, Odumakin sue EFCC, Police for N20m

Published

5 years ago

January 17, 2019

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani -Kayode ; and activist , Yinka Odumakin , have sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigeria Police Force for N 20 m over attempts to arrest them .
They also asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain the Department of State Services from detaining them .

The move comes barely 24 hours after the EFCC vowed to invite and possibly prosecute them for breaching the Cyber Crime Act .

Both Fani – Kayode and Odumakin , who is the spokesman for pan – Yoruba group , Afenifere , had alleged that the EFCC had surrounded the home of the Chief Justice of Nigeria , Justice Walter Onnoghen , who is facing prosecution for alleged corruption .

They instituted the fresh court action marked FHC / ABJ / CS / 49 / 2019 before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday .

In the originating summons filed on their behalf by Chukwuma – Chukwu Ume ( SAN ) , the plaintiffs asked the Federal High Court to rule that the respondents ’ public declaration to arrest them on the basis of spreading false rumours is an infringement on their fundamental rights as enshrined in Section 34 ( a ) 35 ( 1 ) ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) of the 1999 Constitution.

They are also seeking an order “ restraining the respondents , their privies , their agents from inviting , detaining or arresting the applicants for any reason without following due process .

“ And an order that the respondents pay the sum of N 20 , 000 , 000 as damages for the unlawful threat to arrest the applicants . ”