Lawyer takes federal government to court over military checkpoints in South-east

A lawyer named Chinedu Agbodike has taken Nigerian authorities to court over what he calls "oppressive and excessive" military checkpoints in the South-east.

Mr Agbodike filed this lawsuit at the Enugu State High Court on June 17. This information comes from a court document seen by PREMIUM TIMES. Aloy Ejimakor, who used to be the special counsel for Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra, shared the court documents on his X account on Tuesday.

The lawsuit is based on the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Act.

PREMIUM TIMES notes that there are many military checkpoints on major roads in the five South-east states: Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, and Abia. These checkpoints started as part of the effort to stop attacks tied to separatist groups in the area. But military personnel at these checkpoints have been accused of extorting money, harassing people, and intimidating them. This has made life difficult for those using the roads, forcing travellers to leave their vehicles and walk long distances past the checkpoints.

Mr Agbodike is suing on his own behalf and for the five South-east states, and he is the only applicant. The Chief of Army Staff, the Nigerian Army, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and the Federal Government of Nigeria are named as respondents in the case.

He is asking the court to rule that the "indiscriminate deployment, establishment, operation, and maintenance of military checkpoints and roadblocks" by the respondents is a violation of the basic human rights of residents, as protected by local and international laws.

Mr Agbodike claims that the checkpoints have led to harassment, extortion, wrongful arrests, illegal detention, torture, degrading treatment, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings of people in the region.

He wants the court to declare the checkpoints and roadblocks as unconstitutional and unlawful, arguing that they violate the fundamental rights of the residents. He also says that the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army taking on police duties, which belong to the Nigeria Police Force under Section 214 of the Constitution, is an illegal takeover of powers.

Mr Agbodike wants the court to rule that the "excessive militarisation" of Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, and Imo states is an unjustified and unfair interference with people's rights to freedom of movement and personal liberty.

Additionally, he seeks a declaration that the military’s profiling and targeting of citizens at checkpoints based on ethnicity, age, clothing, hairstyle, language, or appearance is unconstitutional and oppressive.

The lawyer is asking the court to direct the first and second respondents to remove all checkpoints and roadblocks on roads in the South-east. He also wants the third respondent to create ways to investigate and punish military personnel involved in acts of brutality, torture, extortion, and other misconduct at these checkpoints from 2018 to now.

Mr Agbodike is asking for N500 billion in damages against the respondents for the ongoing violation of South-east residents' rights. He also wants them to publicly apologize to the people of the South-east in three national newspapers and on television.

Finally, he is asking the court to stop the respondents and their agents from setting up or maintaining checkpoints and roadblocks in the region unless allowed by the Constitution or an Act of the National Assembly.

The court has not set a hearing date yet.