The Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa on Thursday adjourned a suit filed by an Ijaw rights activist, Comrade Collins Opumie over his alleged two years of illegal detention by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice Iniekinimi Abraham Uzaka adjourned the matter to June 14, 2023.
According to Justice Uzaka, the counsel for the plaintiff, Ebipreye Sese Esq should "put his house in order" by ensuring the error in the address of service to the first sets of defendants is corrected under the rule of the court.
Justice Uzaka, at the resumed sitting of the court, with the counsel for the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), S. M. Tsado present, advised the plaintiff that despite the single address involved, the address used should be uniform.
The issue of seeking the leave of the court before service was also addressed by the court and the plaintiff’s counsel explained that the current Bayelsa State High Court Rules 2010 did away with the provision for seeking leave to issue and serve a writ of summons outside the jurisdiction.
Speaking with journalists after the court sitting, Ebipreye Sese Esq assured that though the “unlawful arrest and detention suit filed against the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police is at the preliminary stage," at the next hearing, they will file a request for accelerated hearing.
The lawyer further stated that the suit filed by Opumie against his “illegal arrest and detention” by the operatives of the DSS following alleged prompting by the security department of the NOAC, who falsely accused him of being a threat to the company, is right and just.
“He has the right to seek redress,” he said.
Comrade Opumie, in the suit numbered YC/324/2022, is demanding the sum of N9 billion in damages and praying the court to declare that his arrest, torture and subsequent detention without proper food, medical attention and access to family members for two years amount to unlawful imprisonment.