The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed on behalf of Gospel Kinanee, who was allegedly detained for 18 years without trial, over identity discrepancies.
Justice Okogbule Gbasam dismissed the suit instituted by the Haven360 Community Impact Initiative (Haven360 Foundation) on Friday, ruling that the applicant failed to establish his claims of rights violations.
The judge said there was no evidence establishing when, how or by whom Kinanee was arrested, or proof that he had been detained and subsequently released by the Chief Judge.
Justice Gbasam also noted discrepancies between the identity of the person allegedly arrested and the person released, stating that the individual in custody was identified as Sunday Barine, who was released by the Chief Judge in July.
Reacting to the judgment, President of Haven360 Foundation, Cyrus Cyrus Onu, said the organisation would obtain a certified true copy of the judgment and review the court’s reasoning before advising the applicant on the next course of action.
“The court has done its job. We will apply for the CTC of the judgment. We will review it and advise the applicant,” Onu said, adding that the decision on whether to appeal would be made after the review.
Also speaking, Principal State Counsel with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Chimenem Mbadiwe, welcomed the judgment, saying the applicant failed to prove that his fundamental rights had been violated.
“My Lord has done a very good job. The applicant had failed to prove his case that he was abused in any way,” Mbadiwe said.
He added that the discrepancies surrounding the identities of the person arrested and the person released had weakened the applicant’s case.
Meanwhile, Paul Kinanee, brother of Gospel Kinanee, said the family would study the judgment before deciding whether to appeal.
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