A Federal High Court. Abuja, on Thursday, dismissed a suit filed by retired Group Capt. Ahmad Musa against the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) over allegations bordering on his unlawful recall from foreign mission in 2020.
Delivering judgment in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1604/2020, aJustice Inyang Ekwo, held that the action instituted by Musa lacked merit and ought to be dismissed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the applicant (Musa) had sued the DIA, AVM M.S. Usman, Chief of DIA; Nigerian Air Force and AVM Abubakar Baba Sadiq, Chief of Air Staff as first to fourth respondents respectively.
Others joined in the suit are AVM A.O. Adesanya, Defence Attache Moscow; AVM M.A. Yakubu, Chief of Logistics Hq. NAF; Nigerian Police Force and Department of State Services (DSS) as fifth to eight respondents respectively.
The originating motion was brought pursuant to Order 11 (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009.
He sought 14 prayers.
He urged the court to declare that the recall letters from the Defence Section of the DIA dated Feb. 13 and 19, 2020 from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a breach of his fundamental human rights to fair hearing.
He said he was not given a chance to defend himself.
He argued that the directive from the 1st and 2nd respondents that the applicant should immediately return to Nigeria not later than April 27, 2020 amounts to breach of the applicant’s right to fair hearing and to fundamental rights to life and personal liberty.
Musa, therefore, prayed the court for an order, declaring the letters of his recall without due process as null, void and of no effect.”
Delivering the ruling, the judge held that at any time when a court “is confronted with a claim under the fundamental rights procedure, it is imperative that it should examine the relief sought, the grounds for such relief and the facts relied upon by the applicant.
“Where the facts relied upon disclose a breach of the fundamental rights of the applicant as the basis of the claim, there is a dear case for the enforcement of such rights through the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules.
“However, where the alleged breach of right is ancillary or incidental to the principal claim, grievance or complaint, it is incompetent to proceed under the rules.
“This is because the right violated is not synonymous with the substantive claim which is the subject matter of the action,” citing previous cases to back his decision.
Alluding to a previous matter, Ekwo further stated that ”unless and until a party’s breached right had come within the purview of those rights as so dearly protected by the constitution, the constitutional provision and the adjectival arrangement equally put in place cannot be exploited to remedy whatever wrong the party would have suffered.
According to him, I have taken a look at the reliefs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 sought by the applicant.
“These reliefs are centred on the recall of the applicant from Nigerian Embassy, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia back to Nigeria.
“I find that this action lacks merit and ought to be dismiss.
“I, therefore, make an order dismissing same. This is the order of this court,” he ruled.
(NAN)
