Speed Darlington’s N300m suit against IGP adjourned

• Speed Darlington’s fundamental rights enforcement case against the IGP has been adjourned.
• A court adjourned the N300m suit till January 27.
• This comes after Speed Darlington’s arrest and rearrest in 2024.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, adjourned a N300 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by detained Singer, Darlington Achakpo, popularly known as Speed Darlington, against the police until January 27.

The presiding judge, Justice Musa Liman fixed the date after an application by counsel for the Inspector-General of Police, CSP Audu Garba, seeking a short date to enable him study the further affidavit served on him in the open court by Achakpo’s lawyer, Abubakar Marshal.

When the matter was called, Marshal told the court that the matter was for hearing of the substantive application for fundamental right enforcement of his client.

According to him, the police served on them their counter affidavit on Friday and a further affidavit had also been filed in response.

However, the IGP counsel, Garba said though he filed their counter affidavit, he was yet to be served with the further affidavit.

The judge asked Marshall when the further affidavit was filed.

“It was filed this morning my lord,” he said.

With the leave of the court, Marshall served Garba with a copy of the further affidavit.
When Marshall sought to move the application, the police lawyer objected to the request.

He said he would need more time to study the further affidavit through to know whether new issues of facts and law were raised to enable him respond appropriately.
Justice Liman adjourned the matter until January 27 for adoption.

In the fundamental right suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1832/2024, Speed Darlington sued I-G as sole respondent.

The artiste, who urged the court to declare that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, sought four orders.

In the suit filed by a human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, he sought an order ordering the I-G to immediately and unconditionally release him from detention facility where he is being kept.

Alternatively, he sought an order mandating and compelling the I-G to produce him before the court to enable the court inquire into the circumstances constituting grounds of his arrest and detention and where it deems fit, admits him to bail.

He also sought an order directing the respondent to pay the applicant the sum of three hundred million naira as general, exemplary and aggravating damages for their unlawful and continued detention since the 2024 till date.