Chinelo Obogo, Lagos
Counsels to Allen Onyema, the chairman of Air Peace, A O Alegeh & Co., have dissociated their client
from the fundamental human right case instituted by an Abuja-based lawyer.
The law firm said in a statement that at no time did Onyema solicit any lawyer to file any human rights case on his behalf.
Their statement reads:
“The attention of our client, Allen Onyema, has been drawn to news reports now trending on social media suggesting that an Abuja-based lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, has instituted an action in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1446/2019 – Johnmary C. Jideobi v. Federal Government of Nigeria & Ors at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, purportedly seeking the enforcement of our client’s fundamental human rights.
“We hereby state on behalf of our client, that at no time did he instruct the said Mr Johnmary C Jideobi to institute any action on his behalf in respect of the subject matter of the indictment now pending against him in the United States of America. Our client has no knowledge of the said action and did not consent to the filing of same. As a matter of fact, our Client does not know the said Mr Johnmary C. Jideobi.”
Mr Jideobi had on Monday instituted a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja for the enforcement of the fundamental human rights of Mr Onyema.
He prayed the court to bar the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, as well as other agencies of government from harassing or extraditing Onyema to the US against his will.
He sought a seven-point relief, including a declaration by the court that the Federal Government and or any of its agencies with prosecutorial powers as represented by Malami who is the Respondent “is/are without powers to abridge the fundamental right of Onyema to freedom of movement as donated by Section 35 of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Jideobi also sought an order of the court to perpetually bar “the Federal Government of Nigeria and or any of its agencies with prosecutorial powers as represented by the Respondent herein either by themselves, their servants, privies, assigns or any other person or authority acting either in concert with them, on their behalf or under them from giving effect to any extradition request from any country of the world in so far as the ingredients or constituent facts of the indictment and or charges underlying the said request are traceable to or related with or arose from diverse civil aviation contracts entered into by Onyema through his duly registered companies with other duly registered companies in other jurisdictions especially in the United States of America.”