Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court over the alleged violation of his human right.
Raye24reporters reports that the suit filed at the High Court in Enugu has Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB as plaintiffs, while the federal government, President Buhari, attorney general of the federation, governor of Ebonyi State and Southeast Governors’ Forum are respondents.
The IPOB leader is praying the court to declare the practical application of the Terrorism Prevention Act and the executive or administrative action of the respondents which directly led to the proscription of IPOB and its listing as a terrorist group is ‘illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional and amounts to infringement’ of his ‘fundamental right not to be subjected to any disabilities or restrictions on the basis of his ethnicity as enshrined and guaranteed under Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and his fundamental rights as enshrined under Articles 2,3,19 &20 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Enforcement and Ratification) Act’.
In the case instituted on his behalf by Aloy Ejimakor, Nnamdi Kanu wants the court to determine, among others, that self-determination is not a crime and thus cannot be used as a basis to arrest, detain and prosecute him and members of IPOB.
Kanu wants the court to grant, “An order of injunction restraining and prohibiting the respondents from taking any further step in any criminal prosecutions of the applicant and members of IPOB on the basis of the said proscription of IPOB and its listing as a terrorist group.
“An order mandating and compelling the respondents to forthwith release the applicant and all members of IPOB from detention and to desist from any further arrests, detentions, prosecutions and extrajudicial killings of the members of the IPOB.
“An order mandating and compelling the respondents, jointly or severally, to issue official letter (s) of apology to the applicant and members of IPOB for the infringement of their said fundamental rights; and publication of said letter(s) of apology in three national dailies.
An order mandating and compelling the respondents to, jointly or severally, pay the sum of N25,000,000,000.00 (Twenty-Five Billion Naira) to the applicant, and the sum of N500,000,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Billion Naira) to members of IPOB, being monetary damages claimed by the applicant and members of IPOB against the respondents jointly and severally for the physical, mental, emotional, psychological, property and other damages suffered by the applicant and members of IPOB as a result of the infringements of their fundamental rights by the respondents.”
The reliefs are sought on the grounds that, “The applicant is entitled to his fundamental rights not to be subjected to any disabilities or restrictions on the basis of his ethnicity as enshrined and guaranteed under Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and his fundamental rights enumerated under Articles 2,3,19 &20 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Enforcement and Ratification) Act.
“That unless the respondents are restrained by an order of this Honorable Court, the applicant will continue to suffer the infringement of his fundamental rights.”
, has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court over the alleged violation of his human right.){kind=link}