It is trite knowledge, though may still be contested, that for the legal profession, one’s competence and reputation stems from majorly the number and calibre of cases won and the impact it has both on jurisprudence and the society at large. In this respect, Ajayi Olusegun appears to have carved a niche for himself and his career by virtue of the favourable judgment he got for his client and businessman, Richard Abbey.

Richard Abbey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ricardo Security Services Ltd, a security services firm, was arrested in Port Harcourt at about 2am on Saturday, July 16, 2022 when security operatives comprising the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Army (NA) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) allegedly broke into his home. After two weeks of detention, his lawyer, Ajayi Olusegun was able to legally arm twist his captors, the DSS to release him when he sued the domestic espionage agency.

But Olusegun also decided that that would not be the end of the story for his beleaguered client. He went to court to demand the enforcement of the fundamental rights of his client, claiming that these rights, which include violation of his privacy, inhuman treatment, bodily assault on his person, burgling of his home, and several others. These rights he asserted were guaranteed by the Constitution of Nigeria, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, and the United Nations Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, stressing that these were justiciable and enforceable in within the legal precincts of Nigerian Federation.   

On Tuesday, December 6, 2022, Justice Elsie Thompson of the Rivers State High Court ruled that the DSS actually infringed on the fundamental rights of Richard Abbey and ordered the domestic spy agency to pay him N20 million as damages and also publish an apology to him in a national daily within seven days of the judgement. Reacting to the judgment, Ajayi Olusegun spoke with some journalists at the court and Kristina Reports herein reproduce the conversation as it went. Enjoy!

Newsmen: How do you feel about the judgement, you were praying that the court should pay five hundred but twenty million naira was given by the court?

Ajayi Olusegun: My name is A. Ajayi Olusegun, Esquire, I represent the applicant; my office, I and my colleague, we represent the applicant in the case that judgement has just been delivered. Sincerely, it is not the amount of damages or the compensation given in an action of this nature for the enforcement of fundamental human rights of a citizen of this country that matters, are you getting it? Even if it is one thousand naira that is given, it is significant in the sense that it is a lesson to the law enforcement agencies that a citizen of this country is entitled to his fundamental human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution and by the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Ratification Act. Are you getting it?

Such fundamental human rights are sacrosanct, of course, based on the limitations provided by the law, are you getting it? They are guaranteed by the Constitution, you cannot infringe on somebody’s right, just like that.  So, that is the example, that is the lesson that the court has doled out today and this judgement today shows that there’s still hope for the common man, there’s still hope for the downtrodden, there’s still hope for the citizens of this country and that there is still hope for humanity. I think that is it. You know and I think the court has also ordered while granting all our reliefs that the DSS should render an apology in writing, published in the newspaper within 30 days from the date of this judgement to the applicant; even if there is no monetary judgement, that alone is significant. So, we are grateful to God, we are also grateful to the Judiciary for upholding civility, for upholding justice and fairness to the citizens of this country.

So, there is also a restraining order, restraining the respondent from further arresting…

Of course, that is one of our reliefs, naturally, we had to ask for an injunctive order against the DSS, and the court granted it that the DSS is hereby restrained from arresting or further arresting the applicant, without any lawful or justified reason cognizable in law. So, I think this is a matter that has made the rounds for several months now. I think since July 2022 when the applicant’s fundamental human right was infracted, today marks the end of it, end of the judgement. once again, I say thank God that all turned out well.

Do you foresee a situation whereby the respondent will appeal this judgement?

The right of appeal to a party in litigation is a constitutional one. It is their right if they want to go to appeal but we’ll meet there. Incidentally or gladly, the judge is a very senior judge of the Rivers State High Court, and if you were there when the judgement was being read, you’ll notice that we on our part even thought to lose the case, are you getting it? Now a good judgement must touch on all the issues canvassed and raised by parties, you will notice that the court touched on all the issues such that at a time we thought it wasn’t even going our way, but at the end of the day, justice was done in the case. So, we appreciate the judge. The court has done well in the judgement and it is their right like I said to go on appeal if they want to but I think we are capable and able to meet them there.