A legal practitioner, Isah Hassan-Nalaraba, has filed a $360 million fundamental human rights violation lawsuit against Justice Abdullahi Hassan-Shama of the Nasarawa State High Court, alleging illegal detention and confiscation of his mobile phones.
The suit, filed on February 7, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Lafia (Suit No. FH/LF/FHR/6/2025), names Justice Hassan-Shama, the Registrar of the Doma High Court, the Commissioner of Police, the Nigeria Police Force, and a police officer, Dahiru Maruf, as respondents.
In an affidavit dated February 11, Nalaraba stated that he had filed a motion requesting Justice Hassan-Shama to recuse himself from a case due to perceived bias. However, the judge declined and proceeded to hear both the recusal application and the substantive suit, prompting Nalaraba to withdraw from the case.
The lawyer alleged that after his withdrawal, the judge ordered his detention and the confiscation of his phones, actions he described as unconstitutional and a violation of his rights under Sections 34, 35, 36, 37, and 41 of the 1999 Constitution.
Nalaraba is seeking several reliefs, including:
- $200 million in compensation for the unlawful seizure of his phones, which deprived him of communication.
- 150 million in exemplary damages for illegal arrest, detention, and phone confiscation.
- 10 million in general damages for the inconveniences caused by the respondents.
In a separate petition to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Afam Osigwe, Nalaraba accused Justice Hassan-Shama of ordering his detention without provocation.
