Court hears ex-Boko Haram’s spokesman’s motion to withdraw suit, Oct. 10

An FCT High Court on Thursday fixed October 10 for hearing in a motion filed a former spokesman of Boko Haram, Ali Konduga, to withdraw his N500 million aggravated damages suit.

Konduga had dragged the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami over alleged breach of his fundamental rights.

Justice Samira Bature, fixed the date after counsel to Konduga, Mr. Emmanuel Edu, told the court that his client intends to discontinue the suit.

Edu said, Konduga only yesterday made his intention known to him.

Counsel for the attorney general of the federation, Mrs. Clementine Nebo, did not object to the notice of withdrawal, but said a proper motion should be presented to the court.

In view of this, Konduga‘s counsel then prayed for a short adjournment to enable them file the motion for withdrawal.

Konduga through his counsel, Mr. Mohammed Tola, filed a suit, alleging that he was kept in detention for an extra three years after serving his three-year jail term before he was released in 2016.

Konduga was convicted by a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Abuja and sentenced to three years imprisonment for criminal intimidation in 2011.

In the suit, Konduga claimed that he was kept in the custody of the DSS instead of the conventional prison to serve his term because the government wanted him to serve as a key witness to prove a terrorism charge against a senator in a Federal High Court in Abuja.

He further stated that as of the time of his release, he was never called to testify in the matter or any other matter.

Konduga said that he was taken to the DSS’s office in Maiduguri on September 8, 2016 and was released on September 9, 2016 to his parents.

He alleged that DSS offered his family N700, 000 for his medical treatment when he was released.

The gesture, Konduga said showed that the DSS knew he was entitled to compensation for his illegal and unlawful detention, adding that the service refused to pay him any other compensation except the N700, 000.

He further stated that some individuals attacked him after he was released in 2016 and he sustained head injuries from the attack, adding that as a result of the injury he sustained, the police in Maiduguri, took him into protective custody and later referred him to the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Maiduguri.

He therefore, demanded for an unreserved public apology in three national newspapers and also prayed for an order of the court, directing the respondents to jointly and severally pay him N500 million as aggravated damages, and compensation for the illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful detention.