Former aide sues Aisha Buhari, demands N100m for alleged detention

Zainab Kassim, a former Special Assistant to the President in the Office of the First Lady, has sued Aisha Buhari for allegedly violating her fundamental human rights and is seeking N100 million in damages from her and other defendants in the case.

The Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services are the other respondents in the matter.

Aisha Buhari allegedly ordered several DSS personnel to kidnap Kassim and take her to the presidential villa, where she was said to have been attacked, dehumanized, and verbally tortured by the First Lady with the assistance of DSS and police officers in exchange for erasing her social media posts.

In the suit with the number: FHC/ABJ/OS/202/2023 issued on Friday, she is asking the court to declare her arrest and detention as unlawful.

It partly reads, “Declaration that the abduction, arrest and detention of the Applicant between 18th of November, 2022 and 22nd of November, 2022, and the threat to further arrest and detain the Applicant by agents of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents on the orders and directives of the 1st Respondent, without an order of Court is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null, void and constitutes a violation of her rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

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“A declaration that the torture, brutalisation and dehumanisation of the applicant by the 1st respondent and agents of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents, on 18th of November, 2022 is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and constitutes a violation of her right to dignity of the human person.”

Additionally, she requested that the court order the police and DSS to stop torturing her while they are holding her in custody.

“A declaration that the threats by the agents of the 2nd and 3rd Respondents to the Applicant, of further abduction, arrest, detention and assassination of the Applicant if she brings any claims for fundamental rights enforcement against the Respondents is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, constitutes torture and a violation of her rights to life, fair hearing and dignity of human person.

“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.

“An order directing the 2nd respondent to release the applicant’s Note 20 Ultra Mobile Phone to her immediately. Damages, jointly and severally against the respondents, in the sum of N100,000,000.00.”

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