The Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has dismissed a ₦20 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Mrs. Christiana Dagogo-George against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The ruling was delivered by U. P. Kekemeke, who held that the applicant failed to prove that her arrest and detention by the Commission in October 2022 violated her constitutional rights.
Mrs. Dagogo-George had approached the court seeking damages, alleging unlawful arrest, detention, and infringement of her fundamental rights arising from an investigation conducted by the ICPC. According to court filings, the investigation related to training contracts awarded under the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, in which the applicant was involved as a project manager with Wiseworld Firm Consult Limited.
In its response, the ICPC contended that the applicant was invited for questioning in the course of an ongoing investigation, granted bail on the same day of her initial appearance, and that subsequent actions taken against her were in line with statutory and constitutional provisions governing the Commission’s powers. The Commission further stated that the applicant allegedly breached bail conditions and failed to honour follow-up engagements for a period before reappearing in January 2023.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Kekemeke held that the documents tendered by the applicant did not establish any breach of her fundamental rights and described them as lacking evidentiary value. The court ruled that an investigative summons and detention by a statutory agency, when carried out within legal limits, does not on its own amount to a violation of personal liberty. The reliefs sought by the applicant were accordingly refused, and the suit was dismissed.
