Smart Jaja, the special assistant to Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, in Eastern Obolo Local Government, has taken the Nigerian Army, 6th Battalion, Ibagwa, in Abak Local Government area, before the Akwa Ibom State High Court, claiming that he was wrongfully arrested and detained, News About Nigeria reports.
Jaja, along with 32 other youths of Kampa Village in Eastern Obolo LGA, have prayed to the court to award five hundred million naira in damages against the commanding officer listed as a respondent in the suit.
The applicants, through their lawyer, Ekemini Udim, are also praying for the court to declare that their arrest and detention by the Nigerian Army, violates their rights to freedom of movement and personal liberty, guaranteed by Sections 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and therefore unlawful.
It is pertinent to note that the applicants were arrested on the 10th of September 2024, by men of the Nigerian Army after they were brutalised and taken to the Army Barracks at Ibagwa, where they have allegedly been held behind bars for about 2 weeks without trial.
The applicants were said to have been arrested at night in the house of the 1st Applicant, where they had gathered as a central take-off point for a peaceful protest at dawn against the unwholesome oil and gas exploration activities of Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Limited and their subsidiary/partner, Natural Oil Services Limited.
The applicants further demanded the sum of N500,000 (five hundred million) Naira be paid as damages and compensation.
