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A Lagos-based businesswoman, Mabel Hussaini, has filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Nigerian police, her estranged husband and several other respondents, accusing them of unlawful arrest, detention, extortion and persistent harassment.
In the suit she filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos on 24 July, Ms Hussaini said she was harassed by the police over matrimonial disputes with her estranged husband.
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Her suit seeks declarations that the actions of the respondents violated her rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, private and family life, and freedom of movement, as guaranteed under the Nigerian constitution.
The respondents sued in the suit include the Inspector-General of Police, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja; the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, FCID Annex, Alagbon; the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2 Command and a chief superintendent of police identified as Bolugi
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The rest are Abayomi Michael, a police inspector; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), her estranged husband, Adedeji Adesiyan, and Citadel Views Gardens and Estates Ltd.
According to court filing, Ms Hussaini married Mr Adesiyan in 2016 under native law and custom, and the union produced a daughter, now eight years old.
She told the court that in November 2024, her husband gave her $60,000 to invest in real estate and to establish a trust fund for their child.
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She said she utilised the funds as agreed by purchasing a property located at E18, Citadel Estate, Ogombo Road, Lekki, Lagos, in the child’s name and opening a trust fund for her benefit.
Ms Hussaini stated that the relationship later turned sour after she discovered that her husband had allegedly contracted other marriages in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
She said Mr Adesiyan subsequently relocated to the UK and later demanded a refund of the money, despite knowing that it had already been invested for their daughter.
She told the court that after explaining that the funds were no longer available, she began receiving threats to her life and that her husband later reported her to the police on allegations of theft.
Police’s involvement
According to her account, officers at the Elemoro Police Station, Ibeju-Lekki, initially granted her bail after hearing her explanation. However, the matter escalated on 7 January, when officers from the FCID Annex, Alagbon, allegedly arrested her and her eight-year-old daughter at gunpoint and took them to the Alagbon facility.
Ms Hussaini alleged that she was verbally abused, humiliated, and detained for several hours without being allowed to fully state her case, all in the presence of her minor daughter.
She further alleged that the officers demanded N2 million for her release but eventually compelled her to pay N500,000 through a point-of-sale (POS) operator after threatening to remand her in prison.
She said her lawyers subsequently petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, who allegedly directed that the matter be transferred to the Zone 2 Police Command and treated as a civil and matrimonial dispute.
Despite this directive, she claimed that criminal charges were later filed against her. The charges were subsequently withdrawn after senior police authorities reportedly acknowledged that the dispute was civil in nature.
Ms Hussaini further alleged that the police continued to harass her and interfered with the property transaction by instructing the estate developer not to release documents relating to the Lekki property purchased in her daughter’s name.
She said the actions of the respondents caused her and her child severe emotional and psychological trauma.
Demands
In the suit, she is asking the court to restrain the respondents from further arresting, detaining or harassing her in connection with the dispute.
She is also seeking an order directing a refund of the N500,000 allegedly extorted from her and restraining the respondents from selling, investigating or interfering with the property purchased in her daughter’s name.
She further asked the court to award N50 million in damages against the police officers and her estranged husband for alleged unlawful arrest, detention and abuse of power.
Ms Hussaini also seeks a declaration that the police lack constitutional authority to intervene in matrimonial disputes or engage in debt recovery arising from civil transactions.
Efforts to reach the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, and the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, for comment were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
The respondents have yet to file their defence in the case.
Nigerian courts have consistently held that the police have no authority to intervene in civil disputes, including matrimonial disagreements and debt recovery matters, describing such actions as unlawful and an abuse of power.
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