Jonah Capital Limited, a real estate firm, and Samuel Esson Jonah, a Ghanaian businessman, have sued the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the inspector-general of police (IGP) for “illegal arrest” over a land dispute.
The plaintiffs in the suit are Jonah, Kojo Ansah Mensah, Victor Quainoo, Abu Arome, a lawyer, and Jonah Capital Limited.
The defendants are the NPF, Akin Fakorede, head of the IGP monitoring unit; Ajao Saka Adewale, FCT commissioner of police; as well as the IGP monitoring unit and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Also listed as defendants are three EFCC officials — Michael Wetkas, Enice Vou Dalyop, and Kabiru Baba.
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The dispute involves hectares of land at the River Park Estate located in the Lugbe area of Abuja, the country’s capital.
The plaintiffs alleged that Paulo Homes Limited illegally encroached on over 120 hectares of their land. They also accused the NPF of interfering in the civil dispute by using officers to intimidate and harass them.
In a suit filed at the federal high court in Abuja, the plaintiffs asked the court to restrain the police from “re-arresting, inviting, or detaining” them.
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They are also demanding the release of the findings of the special investigative panel that probed the dispute.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare that the land dispute is a contractual and commercial transaction between them and investors, which the police or EFCC should not interfere in.
The plaintiffs said civil suits on the dispute are currently in court.
“A DECLARATION that the continuous invitation, re-invitation, purported investigation and reinvestigation and intimidation of the 1st to 4th Plaintiffs and their privies by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Defendants, their agents, officials, servants and/or privies since September 2024 with respect to matters or body of matters which are the subject of civil contracts constitutes a gross violation of their fundamental human rights to dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, freedom of movement, right to property enshrined in and guaranteed by Sections 35(4)(a) & 36(4) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Articles 5, 6 & 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act LFN, 2004,” the suit reads.
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“A DECLARATION that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Defendants cannot reinvite, rearrest, detain and/or otherwise intimidate the Plaintiffs and/or their agent and privies based upon the same set of facts which is the subject of ongoing investigation by the Special Investigation Panel of the 1st Defendant led by the DCP Usman Ahmed Imam (FCID) which commenced 5th February 2025.
“A DECLARATION that by virtue of the provisions of Section 32(2) of the Police Act, 2020 and Section 8(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 the continuous invitation of the 1st-4th Plaintiffs by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th 6th, 7th and 8th Defendants under the guise of purportedly investigating matters or body of matters which are the subject of civil contracts and pending before different competent Court of Law amounts to a gross violation of their fundamental human rights to dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, freedom of movement, right to property enshrined in and guaranteed by Sections 35(4)(a) & 36(4) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amend and Articles 5, 6 & 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act LFN, 2004.”
