Habibu Adamu, a resident of Bauchi State, has spent the better part of the last 13 years in illegal detention despite a Federal High Court (FHC) ordering his release in 2014.

Military personnel in Bauchi arrested Adamu on July 15, 2011, and accused him of terrorism financing. They then transferred him to the now-defunct Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) office in Abuja for further investigation.

There, he stayed locked up for at least two years before challenging his detention in 2013. With the help of some lawyers, he filed a suit against Mohammed Abubakar, the then Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

At the FHC in Abuja, Adamu’s suit FHC/Abj/CS/899/2013 received a favourable judgement on December 19, 2014.

The joy this judgement brought to this businessman would soon prove short-lived, as the police failed to honour the court ruling, choosing instead to hand him over to the military that brought him to them.

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In early 2015, Adamu ended up in a detention facility at the 99 Air Combat Training Group, Kainji, Niger State. His lawyers say Sambo Dasuki, the then National Security Adviser (NSA), ordered the transfer.

CALLS FOR JUSTICE

On Tuesday, Hope Behind Bars, a non-governmental organisation focused on closing the justice and re-offending gap, told FIJ they considered the government’s treatment of Adamu to be a violation of his rights to liberty as enshrined in Section 36 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

The NGO demanded that Habibu Adamu be released from the facility that is being used to perpetuate a state-sponsored abduction and kidnap of a citizen”.

FIJ also spoke with Ustaz Sani, the lawyer representing Adamu.

In a telephone interview with Sani on Tuesday, the lawyer said he wrote to IGP Kayode Egbetokun on April 22, detailing to him how the police flouted a court order.

“They never responded to the letter,” Sani told FIJ. “I even sent a reminder a month later, but never got any response.

“The last time Adamu’s family heard from him was about two months ago when his captors wanted to do his biometric verification. After that time, we have not been able to hear anything else.”

FIJ called Muyiwa Adejobi, spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force, but he did not answer the calls. FIJ also sent a message to him, but he had not responded at press time.

FIJ also sent a message to Onyema Nwachukwu, spokesman for the Nigerian Army, but he asked that we direct our questions to the Air Force. FIJ sent a message to the Air Force, but had not received a reply as of press time.

Ojukwu is a reporter with FIJ in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.