Babatunde Omidina A.k.a Baba Suwe Appeals To Supreme Court Over N25 Million Damages Against NDLEA
Justice Yetunde Idowu of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja on November
24, 2011 ordered the NDLEA to pay the sum to Omidina for allegedly
detaining him illegally over suspicion of hard drug ingestion.
Following an appeal by the anti-drug agency, the Lagos Division of
the Court of Appeal on May 31, set aside the judgment, declaring that
the award was “excessive and oppressive”.
However, dissatisfied with the appeal court ruling, Omidina,
through his counsel, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, on Friday filed a notice of
appeal at the apex court.
Aturu, in one of his seven grounds of appeal, noted that the Court
of Appeal was wrong to have declared that the Lagos High Court lacked
jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
“Section 46 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
1999 as amended clearly vests jurisdiction to entertain fundamental
rights cases on High Court of Lagos State for violation of rights that
occurred within Lagos State,” Aturu said.
He also argued that it was erroneous for the appellate court to have declared that the award of N25m was “excessive”.
He noted that the Court of Appeal “arrived at its decision based on
extraneous issues”, adding that the appellate court “failed to state
and award what sum it considers reasonable and not excessive”.
According to Aturu, the decision of the appellate court is in
conflict with previous decisions of the Supreme Court, which notes,
“once a person’s right has been shown to have been violated,
compensation is automatic”.
Aturu argued, “The Court of Appeal did not consider at all the
features of the appellant’s arrest and detention that warranted the
award of N25m submitted to it.”
The anti-drug agency on October 12, 2011 arrested Omidina at the
Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos on his way to Paris on the
suspicion of ingestion of hard drug
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