Hotelier Takes NDLEA To Court Over Alleged Illegal Invasion Of House, Premises

A hotelier and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of D&G Motor Dealer Enterprises Limited and D&G Hotel, Event and Suites, Ijaiye Ojokoro, Lagos, Mr Ayobami Moses Idowu has slammed N100 million damages on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over alleged invasion and destruction of his home and place of business.

This is contained in an application filed before the High Court, Lagos State in the Epe Judicial Division dated March 6, 2024.

Joined in the suit are the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (Rtd) as 1st Respondent, the Commander, NDLEA, Lagos Command as 2nd Respondent, while the 3rd Respondent is ACN, Adekunle Oduola, NDLEA, Lagos Command.

In the application submitted on his behalf by his legal counsels including Chief M. Aliu, Hazzan Muhammed Esq, Hussein Muhammed, Bodunrin Muhammed Esq of Complete Solicitors and Advocate, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Mr Idowu alleged endless invasion of his home and place of business, threat to arrest and detention, laying of siege at the home and place of business by men of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents.

This invasion, which they said, was done on the behest of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents “without any legal justification is unlawful, illegal, barbaric and unconstitutional and violate the applicant’s right of personal liberty, right to dignity of human person, right to freedom of movement and right to freedom of association, right to own movable and immovable property anywhere in Nigeria as enshrined under Sections 34, 35, 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Article 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification & Enforcement) Act, Cap 10, LFN 1990.

The counsels also requested for a declaration that the imminent likelihood of further invasion of the applicant’s home and place of business and further arrest and detention of the applicant by a team led by the 3rd Respondent acting on the instruction of the 1st and 2nd Respondents without any legal justification is unlawful, illegal, barbaric and unconstitutional and violated the Applicant’s right to personal liberty, right to dignity of human person, right to freedom of movement and right to freedom of association, right to own movable and immovable property anywhere in Nigeria as enshrined under Sections 34, 35, 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Article 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification & Enforcement) Act, Cap 10, LFN 1990.

It was added that the molestation , harassment, humiliation, degrading and inhuman treatment of the applicant, his wife, children, relatives and staff members for no justifiable reason howsoever by the team led by the 3rd Respondent, acting under the instruction of the 1st and 2nd respondents, violate the right of the applicant.

The lawyers also asked for a declaration that the unlawful and illegal routine invasion, unlawful search and ransacking of the Applicant’s home and place of business by men of the 1st and 2nd respondents led by the 3rd respondent without any legitimate justification other then to extort the applicant and which indeed extorted the applicant of the sum of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira) is utterly barbaric, archaic, unspeakable, preposterous and violate the applicant’s right to own both movable and immovable property anywhere in Nigeria as enshrined in Sections 43 and 44 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

They subsequently requested for an order restraining all the Respondents whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers, privies or any person acting through or on their instruction from unlawfully invading and ransacking, arresting and detaining, subjecting the applicant into any form of humiliation, molestation, harassment, laying siege at the home and place of business of the applicant same having constituted infringement on the fundamental rights of the Applicant as provided under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

It was added that there should be a declaration that the forceful breakage of the lock of the house of the Applicant at No. 8 Yusuf Street, Ijaiye Ojokoro, Lagos State at night without search warrant and when the respondents knew of ought to have known that the applicant and his family were not around for search is not only illegal, unlawful, barbaric and archaic, but also unconstitutional, null void and violate the applicant’s right to privacy as enshrined in Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“A declaration that the unlawful invasion of the hotel of the applicant by the respondent in a war like manner, armed with all sorts of weapon of mass destruction and shooting to the thin air sporadically to disperse lodgers and guests, under the guise of carrying out search of a place they know harbours nothing incriminating without search warrant, is illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.

“Award of the sum of N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) and a public apology in two national newspapers for putting the applicant through a psychological, mental and emotional trauma by reason of invasion and ransacking of the Applicant’s home and place of business, threat to arrest and detention, humiliation and molestation, degrading and inhuman treatment meted on the applicant by men of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents acting through the 3rd respondent,” the application read.