Detained PDP chieftain, Gbadamosi, sues SSS; demands N50 million damages

Detained Peoples’ Democratic Party chieftain, Babatunde Gbadamosi, has approached the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court to challenge his arrest and continued detention by the State Security Service.

Mr. Gbadamosi, a former PDP gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, was arrested by the SSS in Lagos on February 21, and was immediately transferred to Abuja, where he has been in custody ever since.

Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegvoruwa, who filed the suit on his behalf, said Mr. Gbadamosi had been denied access to his family, doctors and lawyers since his arrest.

Named as respondents in the suit are the State Security Service, its director, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Among the reliefs sought in the suit are a declaration that his invitation, arrest, and detention by the SSS are a violation of his fundamental rights and, therefore, illegal and unconstitutional.

Mr. Gbadamosi also wants the court to declare that he is entitled to freedom of movement, liberty, and right to life; that the SSS’ constitutional and statutory duty do not extend to unlawful detention of innocent citizens.

The other reliefs include an order compelling the secret police to release the applicant immediately; an injunction restraining them from further violation of his rights; and N50 million being special, aggravated, punitive and general damages against the respondents.

No date has been fixed for the suit.

The SSS arrested Mr. Gbadamosi after he reported to the agency’s office in Lagos to honour a verbal invitation, his wife told PREMIUM TIMES last week.

His detention without charge elicited wide condemnation among Nigerians and human rights activists, with Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State describing it as a continuation of the tyranny and barbarism of the All Progressives Congress-led federal government.