KEY POINTS

• Nigerian lawyer sues judge for ₦610 million over rights violation.
• The lawsuit claims illegal detention and forceful phone confiscation.
• The case has been adjourned to April 29, 2025.

Isah Hassan-Nalaraba, a lawyer, has sued Judge Abdullahi Hassan-Shama of the Nasarawa State High Court for ₦610 million, claiming that he was unlawfully detained and that his cell phones were taken away from him.

Lawyer sues judge over alleged illegal detention and phone seizure

Nalaraba’s fundamental human rights were allegedly violated during a court appearance at the High Court in Doma on February 5, 2025, according to the lawsuit, which was filed on February 7 at the Federal High Court in Lafia under suit number FH/LF/FHR/6/2025.

Nalaraba said in an affidavit dated February 11 that he had submitted a motion asking Justice Hassan-Shama to step aside from the case because of a possible bias. The judge, however, denied the request and continued to hear the substantive case as well as the application for recusal.

Nalaraba claims that this ruling caused him to drop out of the case due to fairness concerns. He characterized the judge’s conduct as unlawful and a violation of his rights under Sections 34, 35, 36, 37, and 41 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, including his purported imprisonment and the confiscation of his cell phones.

The first to fifth respondents in the substantive claim include police officer Dahiru Maruf, the commissioner of police for the Nigeria Police Force, and Justice Hassan-Shama, the registrar of the Doma High Court.

Lawyer seeks ₦610 million compensation for rights violation

According to Punch, Nalaraba is requesting a number of court orders, one of which is a ruling that his rights were violated and that his arrest, incarceration, and phone confiscation were unlawful. In addition, he is requesting monetary damages for the claimed infractions. In response to the violent confiscation of his cell phones, which he says prevented him from communicating with friends and relatives without a valid reason, he is seeking ₦200 million. He also demands ₦150 million in exemplary damages for the claimed violations of his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Nigerian constitution, including the unlawful arrest, incarceration, and confiscation of his phone. In addition, he is requesting ₦10 million in general damages for the injuries he sustained.

Nalaraba accused Justice Hassan-Shama of ordering his incarceration and taking away his cell phones without cause in a separate petition to Afam Osigwe, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association.

A new date of April 29, 2025, has been set for the lawsuit.