BREAKING: Court Orders EFCC To Pay Ubani N12m For Illegal Detention
Dr. Monday Ubani, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law, NBA-SPIDEL, has been sentenced by an Abuja high court to pay N12 million to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for his illegal arrest and incarceration for 20 days in 2019.
The EFCC arrested and imprisoned Ubani and Senator Christopher Enai on March 19, 2019, for failing to produce Mrs Ngozi Olejeme, the former Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, for whom they both stood as sureties.
Ubani had insisted that she absconded when the EFCC raided her home, claiming that she was innocent of Olejeme’s disappearance.
He further alleged that he decided to stand surety for Olejeme since he was forced to return to Nigeria to face the allegations against her, and that the EFCC had thwarted all attempts to secure her bail.
Despite Ubani’s explanations, he was arrested and held for 20 days by the EFCC.
He then filed a claim in the FCT High Court for N5 billion in exemplary and aggravated damages for the breach of his rights.
Justice Sylvanus Oriji, who delivered the ruling in the case on Wednesday, found Ubani’s arrest and subsequent incarceration for 20 days to be unconstitutional and a breach of his rights.
The EFCC was also ordered to pay him N12 million in damages by the judgment.
However, the judge refused to order the EFCC to apologize publicly for the wrongful detention.
