The Bayelsa State High Court in Yenagoa has set December 8 as the date for further hearings and witnesses’ appearance in a lawsuit brought by Ijaw youth activist, Comrade Collins Trueman Opumie. This suit pertains to his alleged arrest and detention in an underground facility in Abuja for 730 days by the Department of State Services (DSS).
During the recent hearing, Justice Ebiyon Duke Charlie, the presiding judge in the case with the number YHC/324/2022, adjourned the proceedings till December 8, 2023, to facilitate motions and hearings.
Furthermore, Justice Charlie declined the request for adjournment from George Obiora, the DSS counsel, citing a letter submitted to the court regarding the passing of his mother. Both the claimant’s counsel, Ebipreye Sese, and the Police counsel, Silas Ebete, objected to the adjournment request, contending that the letter had not been filed before the court or served on all relevant parties.
Opumie, the Bayelsa youth activist, filed the lawsuit against his unlawful arrest and detention, seeking N9 billion in damages. He also petitioned the court to declare his arrest, torture, and subsequent detention without adequate food, medical care, and access to family members for two years as false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
In his eight prayers before the court, Opumie sought an order for damages resulting from false imprisonment under the custody of the DSS, without bail or arraignment in a court of law due to false and malicious complaints against him by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
Additionally, he requested an injunction to restrain the defendants from further harassing or attempting to arrest and detain him at the behest of the NAOC.
Opumie, hailing from Opuama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government area and a participant in the Presidential Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta Youths, accused the DSS in Yenagoa of abducting him at NAOC’s behest in a gestapo-style operation. He alleged being physically and mentally tortured, tied up, and forcibly transported to Abuja without his family’s knowledge.
Meanwhile, the traditional leaders of Eniwari and Ogi-Ama communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have voiced their support for the legal action against the NAOC and the DSS.
HRH Job David Dairus, the Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council of Southern Ijaw and the Amananawei of Enewari community, expressed confidence in the judiciary’s ability to expedite the case and ensure justice prevails.
