Ayodele Olalere
Justice Yelim Bogoro of a Lagos Federal High Court, Ikoyi, on Wednesday slammed the Nigerian Immigration Service , NIS, with N6million damages for the unlawful arrest of a Nigerian businessman, Igwe Dennis Nwaokpara, who was deported from Kenya and detained in Nigeria by NIS.
The court awarded the cost in favour of Igwe while delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/895/2022, filed by the applicant through his lawyer, Ademola Owolabi, against the NIS’ Comptroller General.
Justice Bogoro also made an injunction restraining the NIS from further deporting, arresting, detaining or in any other manner infringing on Nwaopara’s fundamental rights.
It also ordered NIS to release the applicant’s seized International Passport A06128442 which had been confiscated since June 13, 2017.
The court also ordered the NIS to write to the Kenyan Immigration Service that the applicant was neither a criminal nor being investigated by the Federal Government of Nigeria or any of its agencies.
Justice Bogoro declared that the arrest of Nwaokpara in Kenya by the NIS’ agents without due process of law, was arbitrary and the refusal to produce him before a Kenyan Court for the purpose of his extradition, was unlawful.
The judge also declared that the deportation/extraordinary rendition of Nwaokpara from Kenya by the NIS without due process of law of extradition was unconstitutional