Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed of the group – Indigenous
People of Biafra (IPOB) – Ifeanyi Ejiofor has sued the Nigerian Police
Force before the Federal High Court.
Ejiofor, who has since been declared wanted by the police over his
alleged complicity in the murder of some policemen, is accusing the
security agency, in the fundamental rights enforcement suit, of invading
his house and killing of four occupants.
Ejiofor, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/135/19, filed by a lawyer,
Maxwell Okpara, is seeking, among others, an order to compelling the
defendants to pay him N2 billion as compensation and damages for the
burning of his house and shooting of his aged mother by the police at
his Oraifite hometown in Anambra State on December 2 this year.
Listed as defendants in the suit are the Inspector General of Police,
Commissioner of Police, Area Commander, Divisional Police (DPO) in
Anambra State, the Nigerian Army, Chief of Army Staff, Federal Republic
of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
Ejiofor claimed to have been called to bar over 17 years ago and wants
the court to restrain the respondents, their agents and privies from
further harassing, intimidating, threatening his life and destroying his
house and other properties.
He is also seeking an order of the court stopping the respondents from
threatening him with arrest and torture and to compel them to retract
the public notice made on December 3, which declared him wanted and to
also tender apology to him in five major newspapers and any other form
of reparation.
Ejiofor, in a supporting affidavit, claimed that he was in his Oraifite
hometown in Anambra State between November 25 and December 1, for the
burial of his late brother, Reverend Louis Ejiofor.
He stated that on December 2, his house was still filled with relatives,
friends and well-wishers, helping him to evacuate tents, chairs and
other materials used for the burial ceremony, when a group of 16
policemen allegedly invaded his house.
His senior brother, who described himself as Evangelist Emeka Ejiofor,
further stated, in the affidavit, that the police claimed to be looking
for suspects involved in an alleged communal clash and that he spoke on
phone with the Area Commander promising that he would make himself
available on same day by 11am.
He stated that by 10.15am, the same police squad led by the Area
Commander, came ahead of the appointed time and violently invaded his
ancestral home with sporadic shooting at every living object.
“In the confusion that ensued, the plaintiff said that four young men
were instantly shot dead while his aged mother sustained gunshot injury
from the trigger happy officers .
“The dead bodies were evacuated from his house to a market place and
burnt there,” he said and referred photographs and video clips, which he
claimed showed “the wanton destruction of” the plaintiff’s house by the
police .
Ejiofor, who promised to tender the photographs and video clips during
trial, added that on December 3 this year, the Commissioner of Police,
Anambra State caused a public notice through television stations and
other news media that he had been declared wanted without been given
adequate time and opportunity to respond to any allegation against him
if any.
He, therefore, wants the court to declare the alleged invasion of his
house and subsequent shootings and killing of unarmed civilians as
barbaric, wicked, illegal, oppressive and a gross violation of his
rights to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing
and right to private and family life as guaranteed by the 1999
Constitution.
Ejiofor is equally praying the court to declare that the setting ablaze
of all buildings and properties in his Oraifite ancestral home in
Ekwusigo Local Government of Anambra State by the police is illegal,
barbaric, oppressive, unlawful and amounted to a gross violation of his
rights to property as guaranteed by the constitution.
He also wants the court to declare that the December 3, 2019 public
notice by the police, declaring him wanted, without giving him
opportunity to respond to any allegation against him, if any, is
illegal, unconstitutional, unreasonable, null and void as the action
violates his right to fair hearing as guaranteed by law.
The case is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.