A former chairman of the governing board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).l, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, has filed a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and five others for alleged victimisation and unlawful removal from office.<\/p>\n
In the suit marked FHC\/ABJ\/CS\/125\/2026, Jaja is seeking N1 trillion in damages, a public apology, and several declaratory reliefs against Malami, Dayo Apata, former solicitor-general of the federal government, the office of the attorney-general of the federation, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), and the Department of State Services (DSS).<\/p>\n
Jaja averred that he was appointed board chair on May 13, 2019, for a four-year term, but was removed without being queried or given a chance to defend himself.<\/p>\n
According to his court filings, after he reported complaints about the commission\u2019s director-general to Malami, \u201cthe 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th respondents sacked the applicant\u2026 without any query and without giving the applicant opportunity to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaja told the court that while serving in that capacity, he lodged a complaint against the director-general of the commission and formally reported the matter to Malami, then attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice.<\/p>\n
In the suit\u2019s grounds, Jaja said he personally met Malami in his office and \u201cgave the 1st respondent details of his complaint against the director-general of the Nigerian Copyright Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the removal was conveyed in a letter dated October 15, 2020, allegedly authored by Apata, and that he \u201cwas not given an opportunity to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaja alleged that Malami \u201cpaid N2,000,000 for television announcement\u201d of his sack.<\/p>\n
He also claimed he was subjected to intimidation by security agencies, alleging that after honouring a police invitation, officers told him \u201cthat they have seen that his hands are clean,\u201d but added that \u201cthe 1st respondent paid them to deal with and torment the applicant.\u201d<\/p>\n
He similarly alleged DSS involvement, claiming he was told \u201cit was the 1st respondent that instructed them to deal with him,\u201d before the agency reportedly said it had found him innocent and let him go.<\/p>\n
He added that several individuals and institutions also wrote letters calling for his reinstatement, including the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (OSGF), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Garki branch, senior lawyers, and civil service groups, noting that all efforts failed.<\/p>\n
He also claimed that he helped the EFCC in \u201cexposing\u201d Malami and one Mr Ubani, \u201cwhich led to both of them scheming to deal with the applicant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaja is asking the court to declare that his removal without a hearing violated his constitutional rights and to order \u201cpayment of one trillion naira jointly and severally\u201d as compensation.<\/p>\n
He also wants: a public apology in two national newspapers and N5 million as cost of the suit.<\/p>\n
The court is yet to fix a hearing date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A former chairman of the governing board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).l, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, has filed a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":125176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n