Justice Iniekinimi Abraham Uzaka of the Bayelsa state High Court sitting in Yenagoa Wednesday frowned at the absence of the counsel to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in the suit filed by the Ijaw right activist, Comrade Collins Opumie, over his alleged two years illegal detention.
He was reportedly detained at the secret detention centre of the operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
The plaintiff, Comrade Collins Trueman Opumie, said the operatives of the DSS on the alleged prompting of the security department of the NOAC, falsely accused him of being a threat to the company and was illegally arrested and detained in an underground detention facility in Abuja for two years without access to medical facilities and family.
In the suit numbered YC/324/2022, Comrade Opumie is demanding for the sum of N9 billion in damages and praying the court to declare that his arrest, torture and subsequent detention without proper food and medical attention and access to family members for two years is a gross violation of his fundamental right to dignity as a person.
Justice Iniekinimi Abraham Uzaka, at the hearing of the substantive suit was informed by the counsels of the Nigerian Police Force and the plaintiff, Ebipreye Sese, that the counsels to the DSS and the NAOC were absent.
While the counsel to the DSS informed the court that their absence was due to urgent national engagement in Abuja, the counsel to the NAOC did not tender any explanation.
Justice Uzaka adjourned the suit till May 4th for hearing.