The immediate past governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Political Party, NNPP and a businessman, Musa Mubarak Saliu, has filed a lawsuit seeking for N500 million damages against the Inspector General of Police, IGP, for declaring him wanted.
The Kogi born businessman and Estate developer claimed that his “constitutionally guaranteed rights to privacy and dignity of the human person, personal liberty, and freedom of movement”, has been violated when the police mischievously declared him wanted over a land dispute in Abuja.
The suit lodged at the Federal High Court Abuja, marked CV/2839/24, and dated June 14, was filed by Femi Motojesi Esq, on behalf of the plaintiff.
Other defendants in the suit are the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department and Funmilola Florence Olorunfemi as defendants.
Mubarak was a governorship candidate in the 2023 Kogi election.
Among other reliefs, the businessman is seeking the leave of the Court to unfreeze the account number 1000129689 with Globus Bank belonging to Emperor City Integrated Limited, where he is the alter ego and signatory for being a violation of his fundamental rights.
He is also asking the court to declare that the police publication of his picture and name in the Special Police Gazette bulletin as a wanted person with Ref No: CB: 3510/LX/FHQ/SEB/ABJ/T.7/Vo. 1/20 amounted to the violation of his fundamental rights as they lacked such powers “to engage in the act of debt recovery for the 3rd defendant (Olorunfemi) who is a subscriber to the applicant’s (Saliu’s) estate under construction.”
Further more, the plaintiff is praying the court to order the police to issue an apology to be published in the Special Police Gazette bulletin and two national dailies.
“An order directing the Respondents to withdraw the publication of the Applicant’s picture and name they published in the Special Police Gazette bulletin as a wanted person with REF NO: CB. 3510/LX/FHQ/SEB/ABJ/T.7/VOL1/20 as same is an act of harassment, intimidation and a violation of the Applicant’s fundamental right to privacy and dignity of his person as the Respondents have no such powers to engage in the act of debt recovery for the 3rd Respondent who is a subscriber to the Applicant’s estate under construction.
Among other reliefs, the plaintiff wants an order restraining the Respondents, either by themselves, their agent, servants, privies or any other persons acting on their behalf, from harassing, arresting and detaining the Applicant whether in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or elsewhere in Nigeria in connection with the subject matter of the application or acting as a debt recovery agent for the 3rd Respondent in violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights.
According to the estate developer, the dispute arose after Olorunfemi paid N25 million to subscribe to one of his houses being built but work halted after the FCT Department of Development Control demolished the estate.
He said Olorunfemi invited the police to recover her money even after he had notified all the subscribers to the estate that he was making efforts to resolve the issue and return to site.
He is contending that the relationship between him and the Olorunfemi is civil in nature, has no criminal connotation to warrant the police delving into it, inviting him for questioning, blocking his account and publishing his picture and details as a wanted person in the Police Gazette bulletin.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.
