Illegal Detention: Ex-Aide Sues Aisha Buhari For N100m

Zainab Kassim, a former Special Assistant to the President in the Office of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has dragged her to court.

Kassim filed a suit for the enforcement of her fundamental human rights against Aisha Buhari, demanding N100m as damages from her and other respondents.

The other respondents in the case are; the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services.

Kassim had claimed that some DSS officers acting on the orders of Aisha Buhari, allegedly abducted her and took her to the Presidential Villa where she was assaulted, dehumanised, and abused by the First Lady with the support of officers of the DSS and police for deleting her posts on social media.

In the suit with the number: FHC/ABJ/05/2021 obtained by our correspondent on Friday, she is asking the court to declare her arrest and detention as unlawful.

It partly read, “Declaration that the abduction, arrest and detention of the Applicant between 18th of November, 2022 and 22nd of November, 2022, and the threat to further arrest and detain the Applicant by agents of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents on the orders and directives of the 1st Respondent, without an order of Court is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null, void and constitutes a violation of her rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

A declaration that the torture, brutalisation and dehumanisation of the applicant by the 1st respondent and agents of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents, on 18th of November, 2022 is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and constitutes a violation of her right to dignity of the human person.”

She also asked the court to restrain the police and DSS from further arresting, detaining and torturing her.

“A declaration that the threats by the agents of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents to the Applicant, of further abduction, arrest, detention and assassination of the Applicant if she brings any claims for fundamental rights enforcement against the Respondents is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, constitutes torture and a violation of her rights to life, fair hearing and dignity of human person.

“An order restraining the Respondents either by themselves or their agents or subordinates from further abducting, arresting, detaining, torturing or threatening to abduct, arrest, detain or assassinate the Applicant or otherwise violating the fundamental rights of the Applicant.

“An order directing the 2nd respondent to release the applicant’s Note 20 Ultra Mobile Phone to her immediately. Damages, jointly and severally against the respondents, in the sum of N100,000,000.00.”

The case, has, however, not been assigned to a judge.

Efforts to get the spokesperson for the First Lady, Mr Aliyu Abdullahi, were not successful. He had yet to reply to a message to him on the matter as of the time of filling this report.