A Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted Mr Lucky Okodeh, a former Caretaker Chairman, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa, to give oral evidence in his N2 billion suit against the Nigerian Army.
Justice Binta Nyako gave the order on Wednesday after the applicant’s lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, disagreed with the argument of the counsel to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Mike Enahoro-Ebah, that the army did not, at any time, declared Okodeh wanted.
Falana submitted that there was conflict of facts in the affidavits filed by parties before the judge, hence, the need for his client to clear the air on the matter through oral evidence.
He insisted that the Nigerian Army allegedly published the claimant’s photograph among those wanted in connection to the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama in Delta.
He, therefore, prayed the court to allow Okodeh to come to court in the next adjourned date to give his evidence.
Enahoro-Ebah, however, opposed Falana’s application.
The lawyer argued that the COAS and the Nigerian Army did not declare Okodeh wanted at any time.
He said the applicant was unknown to the COAS and by extension, the Nigerian Army.
He said Okodeh was not a person of interest, hence, the suit was unnecessary.
He urged the court not to grant Falana’s plea.
Justice Nyako, in a ruling, granted Falana’s application and adjourned the matter until April 28 for Okodeh to give his oral evidence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okodeh had filed the fundamental rights enforcement suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/590/24 against the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and COAS of the Nigerian Army as 1st and 2nd respondents.
Okodeh, in the suit dated and filed on May 3, 2024, by Mr Falana, accused the defendants of allegedly publishing his photograph among those wanted in connection to the killing of 17 soldiers in Okuama in Delta.
He, therefore, prayed the court to award N2 billion in damages against the respondents for the alleged violation of his rights to personal liberty and dignity.
The applicant also prayed the court to set aside his declaration and award the fine as compensation for damages suffered over the action of the Defence Headquarters Abuja.
In the affidavit in support of the suit, Okodeh averred that the action of the defendants had affected his political career and made him to go into hiding.
On March 14, 2024; 17 officers of the Nigerian Army were murdered by unknown persons in Okuama in Delta, causing the Defence Headquarters Abuja to declare eight persons wanted.
Though Okodeh’s name was not published among the wanted list, his photograph was allegedly posted on a name which was not his, which he also said no member of his family or extended family bears.
Okodeh, who was the chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the April 11, 2024, LG elections in the state, was forced to drop his name and substitute it with another candidate following the publication of his photograph in the wanted list.
Other prayers sought in the suit include an order of perpetual injunction restraining the CDS and COAS from arresting him as he is a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria who had never had any criminal record right from childhood.
He equally prayed the court to order the respondents to tender an apology which should be published on both print and electronic media, so that he could have his freedom to live his normal life.
The COAS, in a counter affidavit filed on Nov. 28, 2024 by Enahoro-Ebah, prayed the court to dismiss the suit for being purely speculative and hypothetical.
“On March 14, 2024, 17 officers and soldiers who were deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Okuama Community, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, were gruesomely killed.
“The 17 officers and soldiers killed, comprises a Lieutenant Colonel, Two Majors, One Captain, and 13 Soldiers,” he said.
He said that the COAS was aware of eight individuals who were persons of interest in the ongoing investigation connected to the killing.
The lawyer said though the names and photographs of the eight individuals were published by the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, he said Okodeh was not a person of interest.(NAN)
