On November 18, a Federal High Court in Abuja will issue its ruling in a lawsuit brought by Abdulrasheed Maina against Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola and Controller General (C-G) of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) Haliru Nababa.
After Ibrahim Idris, counsel for Maina, and Abdulmumin Muhammad, counsel for the respondents, followed their procedures and presented their arguments in favour of and against the matter, Justice Inyang Ekwo set the date on Friday.
Maina, who used to be the head of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), filed a motion on October 17 with the reference number FHC/ABJ/CS/1729/2022.
In a motion dated and submitted on September 27, Maina (the applicant) identified the minister and the C-G of NCoS as the 1st and 2nd respondents, respectively.
Maina is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence at Kuje Prison for stealing N2 billion from a pension fund. He had previously told the court that he has a life-threatening illness in prison and needs medical care right away.
The ex-Pension Reforms boss requested a temporary injunction from the court ordering the minister and the C-G to transport him right away to a respected hospital for treatment of his life-threatening illnesses while his originating motion was heard and decided.
Maina cited ten reasons why the motion should be granted, including the fact that his illnesses and ailments went untreated, which resulted in his incapacity and health deterioration.
He asserts that there is already a chance that the applicant’s rights to life, human dignity, and freedom from harsh, inhuman, or degrading treatment would be violated or infringed.
He said that approving his application was in the interests of justice.
However, the minister and the C-G stated the following in their joint rebuttal affidavit in opposition to Maina’s originating motion: “it has become glare from the intelligence report at their disposal that the applicant (Maina) only feigns the ailments for him to be taken out of the custodial facility to aid his escape from lawful custody.”
Contrary to what Maina claims, he was never denied access to medical care, according to the pair’s application, which was dated and submitted on October 31 and bears the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1719/22. However, they added that Maina would not be permitted to use medical care as a cover to flee from legal custody.
The medical papers he generated were labelled as “self-induced” by them.
“The exhibits attached to the affidavit in support of the applicant’s (Maina’s) originating motion only go to show that, contrary to the applicant’s claims that he was denied access to medical facilities, the applicant had access to medical attention at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, where he has severally been attended to; and the exhibits amply bore out these facts.
“Contrary to paragraph 13 of the affidavit in support of the applicant’s originating motion, there was no time the applicant collapsed in Kuje Medium Security Custodial facility,
“The applicant, on several occasions, made a self-induced complaint about his health, and he was taken (not rushed) to a specialised and reputable hospital for medical services.
“He was kept in the hospital for several hours without any sign of readiness on the part of the hospital management to attend to him.
“While in the hospital, he was visited by several friends and relatives who sat with him, and chatted with him, and he was engulfed in conversation with them, laughing occasionally, without any sign of any ailment or pain.
“When after several hours of waiting and effort by the operatives of the 2nd respondent (NCoS’ C-G) to the management of the hospital to come forward and attend to him failed, it became obvious that the referral to the hospital was a mere gimmick to take the applicant out of lawful custody.
“It was at that point, the operatives of the second respondent received a confidential, top-secret intelligence report stating that the applicant must, as a matter of expediency, be quickly removed from the hospital and returned to the custodial centre; otherwise, armed gunmen suspected to be loyal to the applicant will strike and take the applicant away to an unknown destination.
“It was on the face of this high-powered spy, an intelligence report bothering on a possible plan to snatch the applicant away from the few operatives of the 2nd respondent on the ground at the hospital, and in order to avoid this imminent danger, the applicant was returned to the yard to forestall the danger of attack,” they alleged.
They said that Maina, who was charged with 12 counts and arraigned on October 25, 2019, jumped bail after his health made it possible for him to get out of jail.
Sen. Ali Ndume, who served as Maina’s surety, allegedly had to remain in Kuje prison till Maina was detained again.
According to the minister and the C.G., Maina was just sounding bogus about health concerns in court.
