Court Fines Nigerian Immigration Over Kenya Extraordinary Rendition Case

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has awarded cost against the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in a suit filed by a retired naval personnel, Igwe Dennis Nwaokpara, alleging deportation/extraordinary rendition from Kenya and a five-year illegal seizure of his international passport.

Justice Yellim Bogoro gave the order for the NIS to pay N50,000 as cost after the Service forced an adjournment on the court, following its unpreparedness to commence defence of Nwaokpara’s N12billion Fundamental Rights Application.

Nwaokpara who runs an agro-allied business in the East African country, alleged that in June 2017, the Kenyan Immigration Service returned him to Nigeria hours after he arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, following a request by the NIS.

He claimed further that he was then detained and handed over by the NIS to the Police Special Fraud Unit, adding that there was no court proceeding before the “extraordinary rendition”.

He also wants the court to compel the NIS to pay him N12b as damages for its role in his alleged illegal removal from Kenya and the release of his International passport.

He further prayed, among others, for an order directing the NIS to “forthwith” release the International Passport as well as an order directing the NIS to write to the Kenyan Immigration Service that he is neither a criminal nor was being investigated by the Federal Government.