Falana urges Fed Govt to obey judgments on asylum seekers

Activist-lawyer Mr Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the Federal Government to obey the judgments ordering it to bring back refugees and asylum seekers who were deported by the National Security Adviser (NSA).

He vowed to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondents if they fail to comply with the verdicts within two weeks.

In a March 20 letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN), Falana said the judgments were on suits numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/147/2018 by Wilfred Tassang and 50 others against the NSA and another, and FHC/ABJ/CS/85/2018 by Mr. Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and 10 others against the NSA.

The SAN said the applicants are refugees and asylum seekers entitled to legal protection under the 1999 Constitution, the National Commission for Refugees (Establishment Etc) Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations on Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees Commission.

According to him, in utter breach of their rights to personal liberty and dignity guaranteed by the statutory and international human rights instruments, they were deported from Nigeria and dumped in Cameroon on January 26, 2018 by the Office of the NSA.

Falana said the applicants filed the lawsuits through his chambers to challenge their deportation.

On March 1, Justice Anwali Chinkere of the Federal High Court declared the applicants’ deportation illegal and unconstitutional.

The judge awarded reparation of various sums to them, and ordered the Federal Government to bring them back to Nigeria and restore all their rights and privileges as bona fide refugees and asylum seekers.

“In view of the foregoing, we are compelled to request you to use your good offices to advise the Federal Government to comply with the aforesaid judgments of the Federal High Court without any further delay.

“In particular, you may wish to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the case of the Minister of Internal Affairs v. Alhaji Shugaba Darman (1982) 3 NCLR 915 where the respondent who had been illegally deported to the Republic of Chad by the Federal Government was brought back to Nigeria in compliance with the orders of the Borno State High Court presided over by the Honourable Justice Oye Adefila of blessed memory.

“Take notice that if the Federal Government fails to comply with the aforesaid judgments within the next two weeks, we shall not hesitate to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondents including your good self without any further delay,” Falana writes.