Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the service of a fundamental rights abuse suit against the Army and seven others via substituted means.
The court documents are to be published in any newspaper with a wide circulation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The judge gave the order while ruling on an ex parte application filed and argued on behalf of the plaintiff, Mr. Ambrose Akhigbe, an Assistant Director at the Command Secondary School in Ipaja area of Lagos State.
The plaintiff sued the Army, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS); the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 81 Division; the Commandant of Command Day Secondary School, Lagos, Lt. Akabor; Private Sani; Private Ahmed, and Private Montero, who are the first to eighth respondents, for alleged threat to life, assault, battering, and maltreatment, amongst others.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr. Wayne Elijah, told the court that the bailiff had not been able to serve the court documents on the respondents, hence would request the court to give an order directing the service through substituted means by pasting same on the notice board of the Federal High Court and sending scanned copies to the respondents’ email addresses.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik averred that the respondents, not being staff members of the Federal High Court, would not be able to see the court documents and, therefore, ordered the service through newspaper publication.
She fixed the hearing of the matter on May 5, ordering that the service of hearing notices be served on all respondents.
The plaintiff alleged that the respondents, particularly the fifth, sixth, and seventh respondents, violated his rights when they beat him up and nearly killed him for allegedly making videos of inhumane punishments meted out to the senior secondary school (SSS) 3 girls who were asked to roll on muddy, dirty water.
“The fifth respondent then suggested we all report to the commandant’s office to resolve the issue, which I agreed to. But while I led the way in walking down to the Admin Block, the sixth, seventh, and eighth respondents, acting on the instructions of the fifth respondent, battered me from behind with the sole aim of killing me as they were saying: ‘We will kill you today, you bastard,’ as they continued to lynch and assault me, targeting my face and neck, using plank, koboko (whip), sticks, pipe canes, irons, and their first punch.
“The video evidence of this brutalisation on me by the respondents is herein attached and marked V1 in Exhibit Flash A series,” Akhigbe said.
The plaintiff claimed that the beatings and attempted murder on him led to a ceaseless flow of blood from the skull of his head, causing an immediate hold in academic activities in the school as all civilian workers staged a protest in solidarity to the oppression he faced against the respondents.
He said the fourth respondent, who immediately handed over the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth respondents to the military police to be kept in custody pending investigation, also took responsibility for the medical bills of N65,000 and another N115,000.
“That shortly after the incident, my union, the Association of Senior Servants Civil of Nigeria, served the respondents with a letter of demand wherein several demands, including adequate compensation, were made,” he said.
The plaintiff recalled that on August 6, last year, while preparing to take his bath, had a mild concussion which worsened on August 8. He said the incident led to his being rushed to a hospital in Abuja.
“I was given drip treatments and cared for by a nurse in my apartment in Abuja as the injury to my skull caused by the respondents became aggressively worse by the day.
“I sent a letter of demand through my lawyer’s law firm, WCE & Co. Chambers, to the respondent on August 10, 2024, for the respondent to be aware of my predicaments and to take responsibility, but did not respond to me, even after the three weeks given in the letter had elapsed.”
Akhigbe prayed the court to declare that the actions of the fifth to eighth respondents in unprovoked assaulting, attacking, abusing, maltreating and battering him while he was peacefully making a phone call on June 10, 2024 amount to a gross violation of his right to personal dignity and not to be subjected to any inhumane and degrading treatment, as guaranteed under Section 34(1) of the Constitution and Articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and People Rights.
The plaintiff is also praying the court to declare that the actions of the fifth to eighth respondents in attempting to kill him after unlawfully seizing and searching his phone amount to a gross violation of his right to life, as guaranteed by law.
He is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents, their personnel, authorised agents, staff members, employees and cohorts by whatever name so called from further disturbing, breaching or interfering with his rights, as guaranteed under the law.
According to his lawyer, Akhigbe is seeking, among others: “An order directing the fifth to eighth respondents to film and publish a video apology on behalf of the respondents to the applicant, to be published on two national television (stations) for the unwarranted infringement of the applicant’s fundamental right in threatening the life of the applicant and assaulting, attacking, abusing and maltreating the applicant while he was peacefully making a phone call and exercising his fundamental freedom of expression within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of law.
“An order directing the respondents jointly and severally to pay the applicant the sum of N500 million only as compensation for the gross infringement of the applicant’s fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“An order directing the respondents – jointly and severally – to pay the applicant the N50 million as costs of this action.”
