Federal High Court Grants Protective Orders For ADC Governorship Candidate Leke Abejide Against Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello And Security Agencies....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja has issued orders directing the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to ensure the utmost protection of Hon. Leke Abejide, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), from any potential arrest or detention by Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The judge also issued restraining orders preventing the DSS, Police, and Governor Bello from inviting, arresting, detaining, or threatening the life and property of Abejide until the resolution of the pending suit brought against them by the politician.
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The court orders, issued following an ex-parte application presented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Sammie Somiari on behalf of the governorship candidate, additionally required the DSS, Police, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps to safeguard Abejide’s properties in Abuja, Kogi State, and elsewhere in the country while the orders remain in effect.
Abejide, in his ex-parte motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1248/2023, sought the enforcement of his fundamental rights to life, dignity of person, personal liberty, fair hearing, peaceful assembly, and association. He also sought the protection of his rights to freedom of movement and freedom from discrimination, as stipulated in various sections of the 1999 Constitution and relevant human rights laws.
He alleged that since becoming the governorship candidate, Governor Yahaya Bello had become apprehensive and had threatened to have him arrested and detained to keep him out of circulation. Abejide further claimed that the governor’s ultimate goal was to harass, intimidate, threaten, and prevent him from participating in the November 11, 2023 governorship election, thereby clearing the path for his favored candidate in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Mohammed, after considering the arguments and evidence presented, issued the restraining orders against the respondents, ensuring that Abejide would not be arrested, detained, or harassed while his substantive suit is pending. The judge also ordered the applicant to serve all relevant documents related to the case on the respondents.
The respondents in the suit include Governor Yahaya Bello, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police (Kogi State), the DSS, the Director General of DSS, the Director of DSS (Kogi State), and the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The court scheduled September 20 for the hearing of the substantive suit, in which Abejide seeks declarations that the alleged threats and actions by Governor Bello violate his rights to life, dignity, peaceful assembly, and association. He also seeks an order restraining the respondents from further harassment, intimidation, or harm to him and his property and an order compelling Governor Yahaya Bello to pay him N2 billion in damages for the alleged violation of his fundamental human rights, along with a public apology.
It’s worth noting that the same court had previously ordered security agencies to provide maximum protection for another governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in response to similar complaints of threats to his life in the lead-up to the Kogi State Governorship election.
