Zainab Kassim, a former special assistant to President
Muhammadu Buhari in the office of the first lady, has filed a fundamental
rights enforcement suit against Aisha Buhari.
In a statement by ‘Deji Ajare, the executive director of
Sterling Solicitors, counsel to Kassim, the former aide is demanding N100
million as damages, with Aisha Buhari, the inspector-general of police, and the
Department of State Services (DSS) listed as defendants.
BACKGROUND
Kassim was said to have been taken into custody by security
agents on November 18, 2022.
The former aide was later reportedly taken to the
presidential villa where she was alleged to have been “assaulted, dehumanised,
and abused by the first lady herself and officers of the DSS and Police over
unsubstantiated accusations of deleting the first lady’s posts on social
media”.
“Mrs. Zainab was eventually detained in very horrible
conditions for four (4) days and she was denied access to her family, lawyers
and to her medications even though she informed them that she was hypertensive.
In the course of her incarceration, she fainted and had to be rushed to
hospital for medical treatment,” the statement reads in part.
“Even after her release, persons acting on behalf of the
first lady have continued to threaten and harass Mrs. Zainab Kassim not to
attempt to seek redress in court over the breach of her rights by the first
lady.”
KASSIM PRAYS COURT TO
DECLARE HER DETENTION UNLAWFUL
According to the suit filed by Sterling Solicitors, Kassim
wants a federal high court sitting in Abuja to declare her arrest and detention
as unlawful.
She also wants the court to declare her “torture,
brutalisation and dehumanisation” as violation of her right to the dignity of a
human person.
Kassim is also seeking “an order restraining the respondents
either by themselves or their agents or subordinates from further abducting,
arresting, detaining, torturing or threatening to abduct, arrest, detain or
assassinate the applicant or otherwise violating the fundamental rights of the
applicant”.
She is also seeking “damages, jointly and severally against
the respondents, in the sum of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira)
only”.
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