A Federal high court, Lagos has declared the arrest of a businessman, Dickson Nonso Onuchukwu by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) unlawful, illegal, oppressive and unconstitutional.

Trial judge, Akintayo Aluko held that Onuchukwu’s harassment, arrest and detention by the Commission was a violation of his rights to dignity of human persons, personal liberty and freedom of movement.

Onuchukwu had in suit marked FHC/L/CS/679/2018 filed by his counsel, Anthony Omaghomi, dragged the EFCC, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Lagos Commissioner of Police to court for alleged defamation of character, harassment and unlawful detention.

The Plaintiff, who had been arrested several times by the security agencies, was also paraded by the EFCC together with one Augustine Emenike and a Russian, Max Lobaty as the faces behind an online gold networking firm, Swiss Golden International Company.

The commission, which described the online business as a ponzi scheme, had declared on all its social media handles that the sum of N216 million was recovered from the company following petitions by some Kano residents that they were scammed of their money.

But Onuchukwu, who was first arrested by the EFCC in November at his office (Swiss Golden Africa) in Ikeja, told the court that he provided documentary evidence to the EFCC that he was not an affiliate of Swiss Golden International.

He told the court that he was also a customer like those complaining that they were defrauded, adding that the difference was that he took the business seriously and had been networking and growing in it.

Onuchukwu, also prayed the court to award N1billion damages against the respondents.
Delivering judgment, Justice Aluko held that the EFCC (1st respondent) acted illegally and violated the fundamental right of the Plaintiff when it arrested and detained him based on the petitions which were not written against the applicant and no complaint lodged against him.

Justice Aluko held: “The failure of the 1st Respondent (EFCC) to place such intelligence information before the court for the court to evaluate its claim is an indictment on its part, confirming the fact that such intelligence information does not exist as none has been made available to the court.

On the EFCC’s claim that it obtained a remand order to detain the Plaintiff, the court held that “there is no basis for the said remand warrant/order because there is no credible evidence before the court showing that the petitioners lodged any complaint against the Plaintiff to necessitate obtaining remand order against him.

“The 1st Respondent did not place any credible evidence before the court to show any indictment on the Plaintiff to necessitate obtaining a remand order against him or to have justified his arrest, detention and chains of  ceaseless invitations.

“It is my view that the 1st respondent just went ahead to obtain a remand order as a licence to keep on arresting and detaining the Plaintiff in violation of his fundamental rights without lawful basis.

“The Plaintiff has called my attention to exhibit A attached to his further affidavit which is a copy of Police investigation report that reveals that the Police had investigated a similar case and found that the Swiss Golden Company is an organisation that deals on contribution of money and that such transactions are commercial and civil transactions.

“I am of the view that issuing all the chains of invitation letters against the Plaintiff on the basis of petitions in which his name was not mentioned amounts to unwarranted harassment. Similarly, the arrest and detention of the Applicant based on the said petitions are uncalled for.

“Such arrest and detention constitute flagrant violations of the Applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of his human person, right to liberty and freedom of movement provided in sections 34(1), 35(1} and 41(1) CFRN,” the judge held.

Besides, the court ordered EFCC to pay the applicant the sum of N5million while   the IGP and the Commissioner Police, Lagos state were ordered to pay N2 million to the Plaintiff.

In addition, the court ordered Respondents to issue a public apology in any of the National Newspapers widely circulated particularly in Lagos and Kano States to the Plaintiff for the unwarranted violation of his fundamental human rights.