By Innocent Anaba

LAGOS—A businessman, Afamefuna Ukatu, has dragged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, before a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, challenging his unlawful arrest and detention and demanding his release ‘forthwith’ and ‘unconditionally’ or upon such terms as may be deemed fit by the court.

The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the suit.

Ukatu is the Managing Director of Mallinson and Partners Limited, whom NDLEA alleged imported two containers containing 1,284 cartons of Tramadol worth N22 billion, in 2019, and behind a N3 billion shipment of Tramadol linked to the embattled police chief, Abba Kyari.

Ukatu, in the fundamental rights suit, is protesting his innocence, arguing that the NDLEA has not only failed to arraign him in court, despite having a Federal High Court within a 40km radius of where he is being held, but had also failed to grant him administrative bail since his arrest on April 13, 2022.

He is praying the court to declare that his arrest by the NDLEA on April 13, 2022, at the Murtala Muhammed local Airport Terminal, Ikeja, Lagos, and continued detention in its cell at the NDLEA office at NAHCO Compound, International Airport Road, “without reasonable cause or upon reasonable suspicion” of a crime,” and violates his fundamental rights.

He is further asking the court to perpetually restrain the NDLEA from “re-arresting, further re-detaining, further re-incarcerating” him contrary to his fundamental rights to liberty and freedom as enshrined in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) among other laws.

The applicant made the prayers in the suit before Justice Nicholas Oweibo, through his counsel, Victor Opara, SAN.

In the alternative, he is praying for an order admitting him to bail on the most liberal terms pending the conclusion of NDLEA’s investigation and/or his arraignment.

He also wants the court to direct the NDLEA to tender a public apology to him for the “unlawful arrest and unlawful detention” to be published in three national newspapers to wit: Punch, The Nation and Vanguard.

He is demanding N200million as damages for his unlawful arrest and detention.