Justice M.B. Idris of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday gave an order mandating the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Department of State Security to produce Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah before the court within 72 hours of the court order.
The court also asked that the agencies in the alternative should show cause why he should not be released unconditionally or upon such conditions as the court may see fit in the circumstance. Justice Idris adjourned the matter delineated FHC/L/CS/644/2017 till May 12, 2017 for mention.
The court order was given following an application of Motion Exparte dated May 5, 2017 and filed on May 8, 2017, by Dr Ubah and Capital Oil and Gas Limited, praying the court for an order of court asking that the SSS and DSS should within 48 hours show cause why he should not be released unconditionally or upon such conditions as the court may see fit in the circumstances.
Ubah and Capital Oil had filed the suit before the court pursuant to the Fundamental Right (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 against the DSS, SSS and seven others.
Other defendants in the suit alongside the two defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Chairman of the Economic and Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Inspector General of Police, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), NNPC Retail Limited and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). In an affidavit of urgency in support of the application sworn to by a legal practitioner with Capital Oil, George Oranuba, it was averred that Ubah and Capital Oil commenced a suit against the respondents by Originating summons seeking several declaratory and injunctive reliefs for the protection of their fundamental rights which has been violated or is likely to be violated by the respondents.
He added that when the suit came up before the court, they were granted leave to serve originating summons on the respondents and this was done on April 28, 2017. He stated further that despite the pendency of the suit, the EFCC and SSS still invited Ubah to their office on the issue that is already the subject matter of the suit.
He concluded that if the court does not intervene by granting the reliefs sought, the respondents will keep Ubah in their custody where he may be coerced into acceding to whatever conditions imposed on him in exchange of his freedom as previously done to him during incarceration between March 24 to April 14, 2017.