A Federal High Court sitting in Enugu, Enugu State, has struck out a case seeking enforcement of fundamental human rights and an award of damages to the tune of Five Million Naira (N5m) against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for lack of merit.
The suit against the Commission was instituted by one Mr. F.U. Eze, a serving Magistrate, who was being investigated by ICPC for alleged corrupt practices, gratification and abuse of office as a judicial officer.
The applicant had some time in 2018 been invited to the Enugu Office of the Commission to answer questions bordering on the above allegations. After his interview, he was granted administrative bail with a bond to report to the said office on 9th August, 2018 for further investigation.
However, instead of appearing before the Commission as he was bonded to, Mr. Eze, in a suit No. FHC/CS/EN/98/2018, approached a Federal High Court, seeking an order restraining the Commission from what he termed “further intimidation; harassment and unlawful detention; and general or specific damages for unlawful arrest and detention in the sum of Five Million Naira (N5m).”
The presiding judge, Justice Abdullahi Liman, having listened to the arguments of both the counsel to the applicant and that of the respondent, agreed entirely with the submission of the counsel to the respondent and dismissed the case in its entirety for want of merit.