Chido Onumah Demands N150m Damages From DSS

Nigerian journalist and rights activist, Chido Onumah, on Wednesday, demanded the sum of N150 million compensation from the Department of State Security Services (DSS) over alleged illegal detention.

Naija News understands that this was contained in a suit with number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1270/2019 filed by his Lawyer, Moses Ideh, at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

In the suit, Onumah also sought “the enforcement of his fundamental human rights to dignity of his person, right to personal liberty, freedom of expression and right to own personal property brought pursuant to Section 34, 35, 39, 41 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

The applicant in his suit noted Yusuf Bichi, who is the DG of DSS, as the 1st respondent and the DSS as an agency is his 2nd respondent in the case.

The demand comes after Onumah was arrested recently by the DSS operatives at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, and detained for several hours for wearing a T-shirt with the inscription: “We Are All Biafrans.”

The inscription on the shirt is the exact title of a book Onumah authored three years ago.

However, the DSS said it did not arrest him, saying the activist “was rather engaged in an interaction during which an act of his capable of undermining public order and national security was explained to him.”

Onumah, therefore, demanded compensatory damages of N100 million for the violation of his fundamental human rights and exemplary damages of N50 million for the setback, trauma, psychological and emotional distress experienced and still being experienced.

Although the matter is yet to be assigned to a judge, other requests made by the applicant include:

“A DECLARATION that the unlawful seizure of the Applicant’s T-Shirt and coercion to write an undertaking never to wear the said T-Shirt again by Officials and/or Agents of the Respondents amounts to a violation of his right to own property and his right to Freedom of Expression as contained in Section 39 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“A DECLARATION that the mental and physical trauma which the Applicant had to endure during the period of time he was held in detention by Officials and/or Agents of the Respondents constitutes a violation of his right to dignity of his person as provided in Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS compelling the 1St Respondent to carry out a thorough and in-depth investigation and prosecution of all its Officers and/ or agents directly and remotely responsible for the Applicant’s unlawful arrest and violation of his fundamental rights.

“A written unreserved apology from the Respondents to the Applicant to be published in two National Dailies for the harassment and unwarranted mental and physical trauma meted on the Applicant while in custody of the Respondents.

“An Order for the immediate release of the Applicant’s T-shirt.”