Legal practitioner Isah Hassan-Nalaraba has filed a N610 million lawsuit for fundamental human rights violations against Nasarawa State High Court judge Abdullahi Hassan-Shama.
The lawsuit alleges illegal detention and the forcible confiscation of his mobile phones.
Filed on February 7 at the Federal High Court in Lafia under suit number FH/LF/FHR/6/2025, the case accuses Mr. Shama of rights violations during an appearance before the High Court in Doma on February 5, 2025.
The respondents in the suit are Abd
ullahi Hassan-Shama, the registrar of the Doma High Court, the Commissioner of Police, Nigeria Police Force, and Dahiru Maruf, a police orderly.
In a sworn affidavit attached to the suit, dated February 11, Mr. Nalaraba stated that he had filed a motion requesting the judge to recuse himself from the case due to a perceived likelihood of bias.
However, the judge declined, insisting on hearing both the application for recusal and the substantive suit.
As a result, Mr. Nalaraba announced his withdrawal from the case.
He described the judge’s actions as unconstitutional and a violation of his fundamental rights under Sections 34, 35, 36, 37, and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
He, therefore, asked the court to make a declaration that his arrest, detention, and phone confiscation were unconstitutional and a gross violation of his fundamental rights.
The lawyer also sought an order of the court compelling the respondents to pay N200 million in compensation for seizing his phones and depriving him of communication.
The lawyer is seeking “an order of this Honorable Court directing and/or compelling the Respondents, jointly or severally to pay as compensation to the Applicant, the sum of N250,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only) for illegally arresting the Applicant from the court room and detaining him in police custody for more than 24 hours without any legal justification.
“An order of this Honorable Court directing and/or compelling the Respondents, jointly or severally, to pay as compensation to the Applicant the sum of N200,000,000.00 [Two Hundred Million Naira Only] for compulsorily seizing and confiscating the Applicant’s two [2] GSM handsets [phones], thereby depriving him of every transaction and access to family and friends without any legal justification.
“An order compelling the Respondents to pay the sum of N150,000,000.00 [One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only] as Exemplary Damages for unconstitutionally an illegally arresting, detaining, and compulsory seizing the Applicant’s GSM Handset [phones thereby confiscating same as well as the said infringement under Sections 34 [1], 35 [3], 2 [6], 36 [1], 37, 41 [1], and 44 [1] of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 [as amended] and Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights coupled with all the inconveniences caused to the Applicant by the Respondents.
“General Damages of N10,000,000.00 [ten million naira only] against the Respondent in favour of the Applicant.”
Earlier, in a petition submitted to the President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Afam Asigwe, the lawyer accused the judge of seizing his mobile phones and ordering his detention without any provocation.
The case has been adjourned to April 29.
