Activist musician and
convener of #OurMumuDonDo movement, Mr. Charles Oputa, popularly known
as Charly Boy or AreaFada has filed a fundamental rights enforcement
suit at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja
over the violation of his rights to dignity of the human person, freedom
of expression, peaceful assembly and association over the attack on the
Resume or Resign protesters on the 8th of August, 2017.
Mr. Inibehe Effiong, a Lagos-based legal practitioner and human
rights activist who is the counsel to Charly Boy in an Originating
Motion dated October 4th 2017 filed the suit at the F.C.T. high Court on
Wednesday October 4th 2017 against the Commissioner of Police, FCT
Police Command who is joined as the respondent in the suit.
In his written address in support of his client’s application with
reference number FCT/HC/CV/3037/2017, Effiong is asking the court to
determine the following two issues:
i) Whether the use of teargas canisters, water cannon and wild police
dogs by the agents and officers of the Respondent to attack, harass and
disperse the Applicant during a peaceful demonstration at the Unity
Fountain in Maitama, Abuja on Tuesday, August 8th, 2017 is not
unjustifiable, illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the Applicant’s
fundamental rights to the dignity of the human person, freedom of
expression, peaceful assembly and association and contrary to Sections
34, 39 and 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
1999 (as amended) and Articles 5, 9, 10 and 11 of the African Charter on
Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9,
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
ii) Whether having regard to the facts and circumstances of this
case and the evidence before this Honourable Court, the Applicant is
entitled to a public apology, compensation, damages and other reliefs
sought in this Application from the Respondent.
Upon resolution of the above issues, the Applicant, Charles Oputa, is seeking the following eight reliefs from the court:
1.
A DECLARATION that the use of teargas canisters, water cannon and wild
police dogs by the agents and officers of the Respondent to attack,
harass and disperse the Applicant during a peaceful demonstration at the
Unity Fountain in Maitama, Abuja on Tuesday, August 8th, 2017 is
unjustifiable, illegal, unconstitutional and a breach of the Applicant’s
fundamental right to dignity of the human person and contrary to
Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999
(as amended) and Articles 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples
Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9, Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
2. A DECLARATION that the use of
teargas canisters, water cannon and wild police dogs by the agents and
officers of the Respondent to attack, harass and disperse the Applicant
during a peaceful demonstration at the Unity Fountain in Maitama, Abuja
on Tuesday August 8th , 2017 where the Applicant and other activists had
gathered to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari should either return
to the country from his long medical vacation in the United Kingdom or
resign is unjustifiable, illegal, unconstitutional and amounts to a
violation of the Applicant’s fundamental right to freedom of expression
and contrary to Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 9 of the African Charter on
Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9,
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
3. A DECLARATION that
the use of teargas canisters, water cannon and wild police dogs by the
agents and officers of the Respondent to attack, harass and disperse the
Applicant during a peaceful demonstration at the Unity Fountain in
Maitama, Abuja on Tuesday, 8th August, 2017, where the Applicant and
other activists had assembled under the umbrella of an association known
as OurMumuDonDo movement to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari
should either return to the country from his long medical vacation in
the United Kingdom or resign is unjustifiable, illegal, unconstitutional
and amounts to a violation of the Applicant’s fundamental right to
peaceful assembly and association and contrary to Section 40 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and
Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights
(Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9, Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria, 2004.
4. AN ORDER compelling the Respondent to publish a
public apology to the Applicant in Five National Newspapers for
violating the Applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human
person, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association on
Tuesday, August 8th, 2017 at Unity Fountain in Maitama, Abuja.
5.
AN ORDER directing the Respondent to pay the sum of N100,000,000.00
(One Hundred Million Naira) as GENERAL DAMAGES to the Applicant for
violating the Applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human
person, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association on
Tuesday, August 8th, 2017 at Unity Fountain in Maitama, Abuja.
6.
AN ORDER directing the Respondent to pay the sum of N400,000,000.00
(Four Hundred Million Naira) as EXEMPLARY DAMAGES to the Applicant
violating the Applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human
person, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association on
Tuesday, August 8th 2017 at Unity Fountain in Maitama, Abuja.
7.
AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Respondent and the
Nigeria Police Force from further interfering with or violating the
Applicant’s Fundamental Rights to dignity of the human person, freedom
of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
8. AND FOR SUCH FURTHER ORDER or orders as this Court may deem fit to make.
In a 22 paragraph affidavit deposed to by Charles Oputa in support of
the suit, the musician gave a graphic and detailed account of how
policemen numbering over 100 hundred from the F.C.T. Police Command
invaded the Unity Fountain in Abuja on the 8th day of August, 2017
during the Resume or Resign protest when he led other activists to
protest the prolonged absence of President Muhammadu Buhari from Nigeria
on account of his medical vacation in the United Kingdom.
The 66-year-old popular musician explained that the invading
policemen attacked him and other protesters and dispersed them with wild
police dogs, water cannon and teargas canisters despite the fact the
seven of them who participated in the sit-out protest that day were very
peaceful and did not breach or threaten public peace in any manner.
Charly Boy further narrated that the attack by the policemen was so
severe that he collapsed in the process and was rushed to the hospital.
He also stated that the police attacked them because of claims that
their protest over the President’s absence, which had exceeded 90 days
on the second day of their daily sit-out protest, had gone international
and brought serious embarrassment to the country.
Three video clips which were recorded during the attack have been attached as exhibits in the affidavit.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
