The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Abba Maina, who has been linked to Boko Haram activities, against the State Security Service (SSS).
In his ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo stated that the suit, which sought Maina’s release from detention, was an abuse of the court process, as a similar suit was already pending before an FCT High Court.
According to Justice Ekwo, filing different actions between the same parties simultaneously in different courts, even on different grounds, constituted an abuse of the court process.
The judge concurred with the DSS and its Director-General, asserting that the fundamental rights suit filed by Maina before the FCT High Court bore similarities to the instant case at the Federal High Court.
“This is clearly a situation where the applicant has fallen into the temptation of instituting different actions between the same parties simultaneously in different courts even though on different grounds.”
“The applicant could have clearly avoided this situation by taking one of the options available to him by law, exhausting one remedy before going for another assuming that the next action would not be caught by the principle of res judicata.”
“Consequently, nothing else is worthy of any consideration where a suit is found to be an abuse of the process of the court.”
“It is on this premise that I make an order dismissing this case for being an abuse of process of the court. This is the order of this court,” he declared.
Maina had filed a lawsuit against the SSS and its DG seeking an order mandating the respondents to produce him in court to enable the court to inquire into the circumstances constituting the grounds of his continuous detention since September 19, 2022.
Maina also sought an order admitting him to bail pursuant to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 1999 Constitution, and other extant laws, citing six grounds why his reliefs should be granted.
He described himself as “a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria” and stated that he was arrested on September 19, 2022, at an Abuja branch of Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) over allegations of committing an undisclosed offence.
On the other hand, the SSS alleged that it received intelligence concerning plans to facilitate the relocation of some Boko Haram members from Borno to a camp in Kaduna State, leading to the arrest of Maina. The agency alleged that Maina was involved in providing facilities in support of terrorist acts and financing terrorism.
The DSS, which described Maina as “a flight risk” and asserted that the suit was an abuse of court process, prayed the court to dismiss it.
