What seemed like a very successful event at the US peace Institute in Washington DC and possibly with the anticipation of an even better reception for the Nigerian delegates, Ambassador Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye (Nigeria's Ambassador to the U.S), Ibrahim
Lamorde (EFCC Chairman), and , Amb.
Olugbenga Ashiru (Minister for Foreign affairs), turned out to be a real shocker as they were served with a $75 million lawsuit by US based Nigerian lawyer, Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye !!
The lawsuit filed June 05 2012 against Ambassador Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, Ibrahim Lamorde, Farida Waziri, Ahmad Abdurrahman, Abdul Suleiman, Olufemi Babafemi, Festus Keyamo, and T. Michael Guiffre by the Plaintiff Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye seeks damages for assault, crimes against humanity, violations of civil and human rights, torture, illegal rendition, abuse of court process and conspiracy
Here's an excerpt form the complaint:
"The EFCC lacks capacity and competence. Yet, it has assumed all manner of power over Ugwuonye. It’s officers using its resources and facilities and acting in its name, tortured Ugwuonye, assaulted, falsely imprisoned him, violated his civil rights, humiliated and degraded him, and subjected him to inhumane treatment ".Read the full complaint below
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
EPHRAIM EMEKA UGWUONYE
310 Watkins Pond Blvd
Rockville, MD 20850
Plaintiff,
v.
(1) ADEBOWALE IBIDAPO ADEFUYE,
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(2) IBRAHIM LAMORDE (EFCC)
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(3) FARIDA WAZIRI (EFCC)
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(4) AHMAD ABDURRAHMAN (EFCC)
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(5) ABDUL SULEIMAN (EFCC)
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(6) OLUFEMI BABAFEMI (EFCC)
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
(7) FESTUS KEYAMO (EFCC)
3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
and
(8) T. MICHAEL GUIFFRE
2550 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Defendants.
Case No. ____________________
COMPAINT
(UNDER THE ALIEN TORT CLAIMS ACT AND TORTURE VICTIM PROTECTION ACT)
I. INTRODUCTION
This is a Complaint against Ambassador Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, Ibrahim Lamorde, Farida Waziri, Ahmad Abdurrahman, Abdul Suleiman, Olufemi Babafemi, Festus Keyamo, and T. Michael Guiffre (jointly referred to as the Defendants), seeking damages for assault, crimes against humanity, violations of civil and human rights, torture, illegal rendition, abuse of court process and conspiracy, committed by the Defendants and their agents; and also acting in concert with, aiding, abetting, facilitating, soliciting, directing, orchestrating and conspiring with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the State Security Service (SSS) of Nigeria, and their collaborators in those atrocities; in violation of the Law of Nations, international law, the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the laws of the United States of America and of individual states, including but not limited to the District of Columbia, and the natural laws of man.
II. PARTIES
(a) Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye
2. Plaintiff, Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye is a 45-years old male, of Nigerian descent and a permanent resident of the United States. He is a lawyer and resides in Rockville, Maryland. Ugwuonye suffered serious and permanent injuries due to assault, crimes against humanity, violations of civil and human rights, torture, abuse of court process and conspiracy, committed by the Defendants against him, which give rise to this Complaint.
(b) Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye
3. Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, (Adefuye) is the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States and the Head of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC. Adefuye maintains office at 3519 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008. He spied on Ugwuonye’s movements and travels to Nigeria. He conspired with other Defendants and issued instructions to certain officials of Nigerian Government and members of the Nigerian security forces, to abduct Ugwuonye in Nigeria on February 13, 2011 and to detain and torture him for over a period of three months without trial by a court of competent jurisdiction.
4. Adefuye, like most officials of Nigeria, is corrupt. Not only did he demand bribe from Ugwuonye, he has continued certain corrupt practices entrenched in the Embassy of Nigeria, against which Ugwuonye, as counsel, had repeatedly advised the Embassy. Adefuye desired to prevent Ugwuonye from disclosing corruption within the Embassy of Nigeria and in the Nigerian presidency in the course of a lawsuit in the United, in which Ugwuonye and the Embassy of Nigeria are parties. Together with other Defendants, Adefuye instructed that Ugwuonye be kept away from the United State and be held in police detention in Nigeria and be tortured.
(c) Farida Waziri
6. Defendant Farida Waziri is a retired Commissioner of Police in the Nigerian Police force. She was retired from the Nigerian police under questionable circumstances. She is a kinswoman of Michael Oandoakaa, the former Attorney General of Nigeria. Oandoakaa is believed to be the most corrupt Attorney General in the history of that country. Oandoakaa as Attorney General had supervisory authority over the EFCC. He fell out with the former Head of the EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, over Oandaokaa’s attempt to interfere with criminal investigations and collusion with suspects. Oandoakaa, therefore, worked for the removal of Nuhu Ribadu as the Head of the EFCC. Throughout the year, 2008, Oandoakaa repeatedly attempted to get Plaintiff to participate in discrediting Nuhu Ribadu in the United States. But Plaintiff adamantly refused. Upon removal of Ribadu, Oandoakaa aimed to appoint as a replacement someone who would be disposed to pursue his personal corrupt objectives. He therefore recommended his kinswoman, Farida Waziri to the President of Nigeria for appointment as the head of the EFCC.
7. Defendant Waziri is believed to be a highly corrupt police officer and she has continued to shield criminals, leading to a significant decline in the effort to reduce economic crimes in Nigeria. She is believed to be a representative of the constituency of the corrupt. Due to her noticeable poor performance in office, agencies of foreign governments including the United States signaled their loss of confidence in her work. To hang onto power, however, Defendant Waziri befriended Defendant Adefuye in the belief that Adefuye might act as an ally and help present her case in the United States.
8. Under Defendant Waziri’s leadership, the EFCC manipulated evidence against certain people, including Ugwuonye. Under her leadership, the EFCC allowed corruption to attain heightened levels within the EFCC and in Nigeria as a whole. Under Defendant Waziri’s leadership, the EFCC showed a total lack of competency and commitment in all aspects of law enforcement entrusted to that agency. Under her leadership, the Nigerian courts and judges were relentlessly blackmailed and intimidated in every manner including, but not limited to, her reckless allegations and innuendoes that the Nigerian judges were responsible for aiding criminals by allowing objections and injunctions in the proceedings before them, even though it was clear that what the judges have done most of the time has been to seek to uphold the due process standards and provided for in the constitution of Nigeria.
9. Under Defendant Waziri’s leadership, the EFCC blocked and resisted the effort of the Attorney General of Nigeria to exercise his statutory duties to regulate the activities of the EFCC. Under Defendant Waziri’s leadership, the EFCC board never met to direct the activities of the EFCC as mandated by law. As a result, Defendant Waziri usurped personally the statutory powers of the EFCC and used such power to favor her friends and family members, while tormenting her enemies, including Ugwuonye. Defendant Waziri, who is believed to be mentally unstable and insane, padded and fraudulently misrepresented her qualifications. Under Waziri, the EFCC operated like a criminal gang, beating up witnesses, coercing witness testimonies and disobeying court orders.
10. Waziri instructed the officers of the EFCC to torture Plaintiff while Plaintiff was unlawfully detained by the men of the EFCC. Waziri was ultimately fired by the Government of Nigeria on November 23, 2011 after she paid an unscheduled midnight visit to the Plaintiff to attempt to negotiate bribe. Upon being fired by the Government Mrs. Waziri was replaced by Defendant Ibrahim Lamorde as the next Head of the EFCC.
(d) Ibrahim Lamorde
11. Ibrahim Lamorde (Lamorde) is an officer of the rank of Police Commissioner in the Nigerian police force. He is the current Chairman of the EFCC. At all times material hereto, Defendant Lamorde served as the Director of Operations within the EFCC. He was the next in the chain of command after Defendant Waziri. He was of the Hausa Fulani ethnicity and a Muslim. Defendant Lamorde received instruction from Waziri that Ugwuonye be placed on a watch-list and set up for abduction at the Nigerian airport on December 16, 2010. Lamorde directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Ambassador Adefuye’s instruction that Ugwuonye be detained and tortured at the EFCC facility in Ikoyi, Lagos. Lamorde directly received and immediately implement Waziri’s and Adefuye’s instruction that the Plaintiff be stripped naked and beaten in EFCC detention cell between February 14 and February 18, 2011. Lamorde directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Adefuye’s instruction that Ugwuonye be denied access to counsel and that Ugwuonye’s rights be violated in other respects while held in detention in Nigeria. Lamorde directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Adefuye’s instruction that Ugwuonye be placed in solitary confinement while in detention in EFCC cell. Lamorde directly receive and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Adefuye’s instruction that Ugwuonye he humiliated by separating him from men’s cell and placing him among women in women’s cell for over two weeks. Lamorde directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Adefuye’s instruction that Plaintiff be denied access to his family, his office and staff while in detention in EFCC cell for over 90 days. Lamorde directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Adefuye’s instruction that Plaintiff be tortured in other ways.
12. On February 27, 2011, Lamorde falsely claimed that Plaintiff had called him and other Nigerian officials from the cell, a claim he knew to be absolutely false and impossible. He used that fiction as a basis to send EFCC operatives and policemen to beat Plaintiff and to subject him to fear of death and other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment.
(e) Ahmad Abdurrahman
13. Ahmad Abdurrahman (Ahmad) is an officer in the Nigerian police force. At all times material hereto, Ahmad served as the Head of Operations within the Abuja office of the EFCC. He was the next in the chain of command after Waziri and Lamorde, as far as Abuja operations of the EFCC were concerned. He is of the Hausa Fulani ethnicity and a Muslim. Ahmad received and immediately implemented instructions from Waziri and Lamorde that Ugwuonye be placed on a watch-list and set up for abduction at the Nigerian airport on December 16, 2010. Ahmad received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Lamorde’s instruction that Ugwuonye be detained and tortured by the officers of the EFCC. Ahmad directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Lamorde’s instruction that Ugwuonye be detained and tortured at the EFCC facility in Abuja, Lagos. Ahmad directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Lamorde’s instructions that Ugwuonye be exposed to mosquitoes while in detention within the EFCC cell in Abuja for a period of over three months.
14. Ahmad directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Lamorde’s instructions that Ugwuonye be denied access to counsel and that Ugwuonye’s rights be violated in other respects while held in detention in Nigeria. Ahmad directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Lamorde’s instructions that Ugwuonye be not informed the reasons and terms of his detention. Ahmad directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s and Lamorde’s instruction that Ugwuonye be beaten, and poisoned until he was to die. Ahmad directly received and immediately implemented the instructions of Waziri and Lamorde that Ugwuonye’s constitutional rights be violated in other ways and particularly that Ugwuonye be tortured while in detention in EFCC cell.
(f) Abdul Suleiman
15. Abdul Suleiman (Suleiman) is an officer in the Nigerian police force. At all times material hereto, Suleiman served as the Head of the intelligence unit of the EFCC. He is the next in the chain of officers responsible for the detention of Ugwuonye after Waziri, Lamorde and Ahmad. He is of the Hausa Fulani ethnicity and a Muslim. Suleiman received instruction from Waziri, Lamorde and Ahmad that Ugwuonye be placed on a watch-list and set up for abduction at the Nigerian airport. Suleiman received and immediately implemented Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instruction that Ugwuonye be detained and tortured by the officers of the EFCC. Suleiman directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instruction that Ugwuonye be detained and tortured at the EFCC facility in Ikoyi, Lagos. Suleiman directly received and immediately implement Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instructions that Ugwuonye be beating in EFCC detention cell.
16. Suleiman directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instructions that Ugwuonye be denied access to counsel and that Ugwuonye’s rights be violated in other respects while held in detention in Nigeria and that Ugwuonye be poisoned until he was to die in detention. Suleiman directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instructions that Ugwuonye be not informed the reasons for his detention. Suleiman directly receive and immediately implemented Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instruction that Ugwuonye he humiliated. Suleiman directly received and immediately implemented Waziri’s, Lamorde’s and Ahmad’s instruction that Ugwuonye be denied access to his family, his office and staff while in detention in EFCC cell. Suleiman directly received and immediately implemented the instructions of Waziri, Lamorde and Ahmad that Ugwuonye’s constitutional rights be violated in other way and particularly that Ugwuonye be tortured while in detention in EFCC cell.
(g) Olufemi Babafemi, a/k/a Femi Babafemi
17. Defendant Olufemi Babafemi, a/k/a Femi Babafemi (“Babafemi”) was an officer of the EFCC. At all time material hereto, Babafemi acted as the mouthpiece and propaganda chief of the EFCC. He commented severally falsely on the detention of Ugwuonye. Babafemi assumed the role of spreading false information about Ugwuonye with a view to denying him access to counsel and access do to due process. The role of Babafemi was to fashion a pattern of lies and misinformation calculated to demonize Ugwuonye in such a manner that he would lack public support or sympathy, which would them enable the EFCC to violate his right with impunity. Babafemi incited other officers of the EFCC to assault and torture Ugwuonye while in the EFCC detention.
18. In specific terms, once Ugwuonye was detained, Babafemi acting under the instructions of other defendants, falsely claimed that Ugwuonye stole 1.6 Million Dollars. Once in detention, Babafemi, acting in concert with other defendants, went to every extent to demonize Ugwuonye, fabricating stories against him and planting same in local press, most of whom were induced by financial gratification from Babafemi. At all time material hereto, Babafemi spread propaganda and hatred against Ugwuonye and thus provided material support for human right abuses against Ugwuonye. Babafemi plotted and instructed junior officers of the EFCC to attack and assault Ugwuonye and inflict upon him live-threatening injuries.
(h) Festus Keyamo
19. Defendant Festus Keyamo (“Keyamo”) in a Nigerian lawyer and the boyfriend of Farida Waziri. He is also the agent of the EFCC. He connived with the other Defendants to torture Plaintiff Ugwuonye while in detention at the EFCC cell.
20. In assuming the position of a public prosecutor against Ugwuonye, Keyamo gave false information in his affidavit or failed to disclose the fact that he had an ongoing case in his private capacity against Ugwuonye. However, in his position as a private-public prosecutor, Keyamo has acted in ways that are unlawful and were calculated to punish Ugwuonye for matters relating to the case of his private client, and not for the interest of Nigeria. Keyamo improperly assumed prosecutorial responsibilities against Ugwuonye and has repeatedly abused his position for hidden personal reasons.
21. Defendant Keyamo conspired with others to torture Plaintiff while in the EFCC detention cell. He encouraged other Defendants to disobey the order of the court directing that the Plaintiff be released from the EFCC detention.
(g)T. Michael Guiffre
22. T. Michael Guiffre (Guiffre) is a Partner in the law firm of Patton Boggs LLP, which was hired by the Embassy of Nigeria to prosecute a civil case against Plaintiff in the District of Columbia federal court. Guiffre was aware of the plans by Defendant Adefuye to arrange for Plaintiff’s arrest, detention and torture. Guiffre, for pecuniary benefit for his firm, Patton Boggs LLP, connived and encouraged Defendant Adefuye to cause Plaintiff to be kidnapped and detained and tortured in Nigeria.
23. Further, Guiffre and other lawyers in his firm advised and counseled Defendant Adefuye and various the EFCC officials on how to interrogate Plaintiff while in custody in Nigeria and the information that Plaintiff should be forced to produce, all for the purpose of gaining an advantage in the lawsuit pending in the District of Columbia. Part of the objectives for the unlawful detention and interrogation of Plaintiff in Nigeria was to obtain information that Guiffre needed to improve the documents he filed in the DC court. Plaintiff was forced to give information, and based on information extracted by torture to the knowledge of Guiffre, he was able to amend and improve on his filings. Through various conscious acts, Guiffre provided material support to tortures and for torture and other violations of the rights of the Plaintiff. Guiffre was constantly consulted by those who tortured Plaintiff for the purpose of carrying out the various acts of torture, and he duly provided them advice and other support on how to carry out such acts of torture. He further obstructed Plaintiff’s access to justice both in Nigeria and the United States. Guiffre conspired with the officials of Nigeria to engage in an act of illegal rendition, which led to Plaintiff being kidnapped and held in Nigeria where Guiffre understood that Plaintiff’s due process and civil rights would be violated with impunity.
24. All the foregoing Defendants acted in concert and collaboratively to violate the rights of Ugwuonye and to commit the torts and acts giving rise to this lawsuit.
III: JURISDICTION AND VENUE
25. The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case (as made out in this Complaint) under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) 28 U.S.C. § 1350 and pursuant to the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA) 28 U.S.C. § 1350, note,§ 2(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (Federal Question Jurisdiction).
26. Defendants are subject to suit in the courts of the of the United States pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602 et seq., because their conducts fall within the exceptions to foreign sovereign immunity set forth in 28 U.S.C. §§ 1605(a)(5) and 1605(a)(7). The acts giving rise to this action occurred in the District of Columbia in significant parts thereof and in the main those acts involve a conspiracy to obstruct and disrupt and preempt a suit pending in this court. The amount in controversy, both individually and collectively, well exceeds Fifty Million U.S. Dollars.
IV. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
27. The assault, crimes against humanity, violations of civil and human rights, and torture of Plaintiff Ugwuonye occurred within the territory of the country known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria ("Nigeria"). Nigeria was established on October 1, 1960, when it gained its independence from the United Kingdom. It subsequently became a republic in 1963, under a republican constitution.
28. Nigeria is ravaged by ethnic and religious conflicts, which have often led to major violence, including a civil war. Less than six years after gaining its independence, Nigeria was plunged into political crisis that culminated in pogroms and genocidal massacre of millions of people mostly of the Igbo ethnicity, to which Ugwuonye belongs, by fellow Nigerians of some of the other ethnicities, to which most of the Defendants belong. These events ultimately lead to the Nigerian civil war that lasted for 30 months. The war led to the death of millions of mostly children and civilian population of the Igbo people, and the forcible unification of the territories known as present day Nigeria.
Since the official end of the Nigerian civil war, ethnicity has remained the most significant factor of conflict in Nigeria. Ethnic conflicts and the quest for ethnic domination, especially the domination of the Igbo people and the adjourning minority ethnicities by the rest of the country has led to government policies that facilitate the abuse of the rights of the minority groups, abusive exploitation of natural resources located in the minorities’ territories without due process and in violation of international law, the blinding exploitation of the Nigerian masses by a kleptomaniacal elite that control the governance of that country at any point in time to date, the poverty and impoverishment of the masses of the population by a rapacious set of leaders and their cronies, and a continued failure to steer the country in the direction of meaningful progress comparable to experiences that obtain elsewhere even in the region.
Nigerian government has historically been a regime that has used force, fear, torture, and murder and other violations of human rights in order to prop up its autocratic regimes (whether military or civilian) and to ensure that the inhumane and barbaric policies and practices of repression, brutality, exclusion, torture, plunder of the natural resources of the people, violence, unjust exploitation of their citizens, rigging of elections or forcible overthrow of elected governments, looting and official corruption, are imposed upon its unwilling and powerless population.
Furthermore, Nigeria frequently defies international law by engaging in acts and patterns of conduct that clearly violate United Nations Charter, customary international law and international treaties; and jeopardizes world peace by engaging in acts that reasonably threaten to provoke civil wars and potential mass migration of millions of people and refugee crisis. Also, Nigerian officials, through corruption, encourage and support acts that threaten other nations and render it unable to perform functions and duties it owes as a nation under international law, including the encouragement of activities that undermine international commerce, like trans-border fraud and scamming with the instrumentality and involvement of the machinery of the state, and other international economic crimes.
The EFCC is an agency of the Nigerian Government. It has the capacity to sue or be sued in its own name. It is charged with the function of investigating certain categories of economic crimes as set forth under the Nigerian law that established.
Under the color of law, the EFCC has violated the rights of people and has become an instrument of political persecutions of perceived enemies of the Nigerian Government, all under the guise of fighting corruption. EFCC indicts people without evidence or probable cause. The EFCC has prosecuted people merely because they held different opinion to government officials. By a combination of incompetence and corruption, the EFCC officials have repeatedly taken money from highly placed individuals and charged their enemies to court without evidence.
In pursuit of its repressive practices, the EFCC intimidated the Attorney General of Nigeria and refused to allow the latter to perform his constitutional duty of supervising the EFCC and setting forth the rules and regulations for the EFCC as mandated by the law establishing EFCC. Instead, a few individuals at the top of have usurped the power of the EFCC and used same to enrich themselves and to persecute their personal enemies and the perceived enemies of the Government.
The EFCC lacks capacity and competence. Yet, it has assumed all manner of power over Ugwuonye. It’s officers using its resources and facilities and acting in its name, tortured Ugwuonye, assaulted, falsely imprisoned him, violated his civil rights, humiliated and degraded him, and subjected him to inhumane treatment. The EFCC officials commit several atrocities including torture and extra-judicial killings.
Those who run EFCC are powerful people in the Nigerian law enforcement. They have guns and powers to maim and kill. They derive enormous personal benefits, wealth and influence by holding their positions. Any threat to those positions or privileges that come with them would attract a death wish from the EFCC leadership. It is believed that some of the leaders of the EFCC have been involved in assassinations to protect and cover up their acts in their current positions.
Though Nigeria is a country marked by high level of ethnic rivalry, the EFCC is deliberately staffed in such a manner to disadvantage people of Ugwuonye’s ethnicity, and the EFCC resisted the effort of the present Attorney General of Nigeria to put in place a regulatory framework to cure the effects of the lopsided staffing structures of the EFCC and its discriminatory practices based on ethnicity. For example, while in detention within the EFCC cell, the officials of the EFCC usually discussed Ugwuonye’s detention in his presence, but in their ethnic language, which they knew Ugwuonye did not understand. The EFCC officials repeatedly refused to speak the Nigeria’s official language, which is English, in the presence of Ugwuonye. The effect was that Ugwuonye’s case was discussed in his presence without his ability to understand what was being said. That was a deliberate act to keep Ugwuonye uninformed about his case and hence unable to communicate with his lawyers regarding his case.
Plaintiff Ugwuonye trained as a lawyer in Nigeria, becoming a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1992.
Plaintiff also attended Harvard Law School and graduated in the LLM Class of 1994, and became a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of New York in May 1995.
Upon graduation from Harvard Law School, Plaintiff worked at Harvard as policy advisor at the then Harvard Institute for International Development, and also taught law and policy at Harvard.
In 1996, Plaintiff was hired as Counsel in the office of the General Counsel of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank Group) in Washington DC.
In 2001, Plaintiff’s work at the World Bank and at Harvard and his academic record both in Nigeria and at Harvard University commended him to the attention of the Nigerian Government when the former President of Nigeria, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, was sued in a US federal court.
From the Abubakar case, Plaintiff developed a professional relationship with Nigerian Government and its Embassy in Washington DC between 2001 and 2008. In the course of that relationship, Plaintiff acted as counsel in the United States to the Government of Nigeria, often through its Embassy in Washington. Among cases handled by the Plaintiff for Nigerian authorities are the Abubakar case, the Nigerian Airways case and the sale of 5 real estate properties of the Nigerian Government in Washington DC, and Maryland, as well as the purchase of one property in Maryland.
Between 2001 and the end of 2007, relations between the Government of Nigeria was a workable relationship. As an emerging democracy with limited experience on rule of law, Plaintiff was among a few group of professionals in the western world that advised the Government on various aspects of global best practices on diplomacy, democracy and rule of law and accountability. This position did create tense moments where Plaintiff advised the Nigerian officials against entrenched habits of right abuses and dictatorship. Despite this the situation remained hopeful and optimistic. However, from January of 2008, the with a new Government in office and a new Ambassador in Washington, relationship between the officials of Nigerian Government took a sudden turn in a cold and hostile direction.
A marked turning point in relations between Plaintiff’s law firm and the new set of Nigerian officials occurred on Saturday, January 12, 2008 in London. A recently appointed Attorney General under President Yar’Adua had invited Plaintiff to a meeting in London. In this meeting, the Attorney General of Nigeria made a request of Plaintiff, which the Plaintiff could not grant.
There arose a serious dispute between the Government of Nigerian and Plaintiff’s law firm over professional fees owed to the Plaintiff’s firm. The Embassy of Nigeria initiated a lawsuit against Plaintiff in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, titled Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye, et al. Civil Case Number 10-cv-01929. While the lawsuit was pending in court, the Government of Nigeria decided to prevent the court from hearing Plaintiff’s defenses. The Defendants therefore kidnapped and detained Plaintiff in Nigeria and tortured him for information they needed for the prosecution of their case.
Ugwuonye was abducted at the Lagos airport on February 13, 2011 by the SSS and he was tortured right from the moment he was abducted all at the request of Adefuye and Waziri. On February 14, 2011, the SSS handed Ugwuonye over to handed over to EFCC on the request of Waziri. After five days of intense beatings and solitary confinements without access to anyone, Ugwuonye was taken 400 miles to the city of Abuja on February 18, 2011.
Ugwuonye was further interrogated and detained in the EFCC cell by the agents of the police on the orders of Waziri and Adefuye in collaboration and active connivance of the other Defendants.
V. Particulars of torture:
On February 13, 2011, Ugwuonye was accosted at the Nigerian airport, also known as the Muritala Mohammed Airport, Lagos by three uninformed men, who simply introduced themselves as “officials of the Government of Nigeria, working at the Presidency”. They escorted Ugwuonye to a dingy office at the airport.
Ugwuonye was not allowed any opportunity to retrieve his luggage, which was already checked into the airplane bound for Atlanta, Georgia. Throughout this period the officers of the SSS lied to Ugwuonye and gave him false hope that it was a minor matter that would be resolved once they received a call from the office of the President of Nigeria.
After about 2 hours at the airport, the SSS men forced Ugwuonye into the trunk of a vehicle around midnight and sped off to a location initially unknown. The men drove the vehicle intentionally recklessly and at high speed. They purposefully caused Ugwuonye to fear that his life was in danger from a crash.
After about 40 minutes of driving across the city of Lagos, the men brought Ugwuonye to a building, which was in total darkness. The building was later discovered to serve as the SSS office and interrogation center. There, Ugwuonye was strip-searched, repeatedly beaten and tired to a chair and left to be bitten by mosquitoes, roaches and rats. Also, Ugwuonye’s property was stolen or damaged. His computers were destroyed in an effort to obtain information from Ugwuonye on his clients. On February 14, 2011, the SSS men took Ugwuonye to the office of the EFCC in Ikoyi, where he was detained and further tortured and humiliated.
Between February 14 and February 18, 2011, at the EFCC cell in Lagos, Ugwuonye was subjected to beatings in the middle of the night, aggressive interrogations, and deprivation of sleep and dangerous exposure to mosquitoes bite. He was forced to lie down on wet bare floor infested with roaches and rats. Ugwuonye was handcuffed and blindfolded and placed in solitary confinement. Among injuries sustained by Ugwuonye is severely impaired vision in both eyes.
Between February 13, 2011 and May 13, 2011, Defendants denied Ugwuonye all access to counsel and to his family and his staff.
Between February 13 and May 13m 2011, Defendants caused Ugwuonye to suffer sleep deprivation. They denied Ugwuonye access to medical care. Defendants subjected Ugwuonye to inhumane treatment.
Between February 13 and May 13, 2011, Defendants caused Ugwuonye to stay under excessively bright lights when not blindfolded, which caused Ugwuonye not to sleep for weeks, suffering injuries to his health and vision.
Within the relevant time period, Ugwuonye was not allowed the opportunity of physical exercise thereby impairing his health further.
Within the relevant time period, officers of the EFCC attempted to poison Ugwuonye, forcing Ugwuonye to go on hunger strike for weeks at a time to avoid being poisoned.
Within the relevant period, Defendants caused Ugwuonye to drink dirty and bacteria-filled water from a well and refused to allow Ugwuonye water from other sources.
Within the relevant period, Defendants repeatedly subjected Ugwuonye to strip-search at the frequency of every 15 minutes.
Within the relevant period, Defendant repeatedly subjected Ugwuonye to verbal abuse and threats of physical violence.
Within the relevant period, Defendants humiliated Ugwuonye by separating from men’s cell and placing him in the women’s cell among female detainees for days.
While in the custody of the EFCC, Defendants took secrete pictures of Ugwuonye to be used for unlawful purposes and blackmail.
While in the custody of EFCC, Defendants conspired to and actually refused to obey the order of the court, which ordered that I be released.
While in the EFCC detention, officers of the EFCC repeatedly threatened to kill Ugwuonye, and they constantly cause him to fear imminent death. In the middle of the night, they would take Ugwuonye out of the cell and threaten to shoot him.
While in detention, Ugwuonye requested for an opportunity to speak with his children and family on telephone, an official of the EFCC brought a 14-year old girl and offered her to Ugwuonye telling him that he should forget his family in American and start a new family. Ugwuonye was so shaken and terrified that he threw up and fell sick for days. Ugwuonye, who has been a single father of minor children, was made to fear that he would lose his children, to whom he was not allowed access.
The EFCC detained Ugwuonye in an unsanitary condition, thereby endangering his health.
While in detention, Defendants secretly obtained court orders through corrupt processes, and failed to give or show Ugwuonye a copy of such orders, thereby preventing him from exercising his due process rights.
By detaining Ugwuonye for a period of three months without access to telephone or to his family defendants permanently destroyed his means of livelihood, endangered the wellbeing of his family, ruined his credit, as he was not able to service his debts and cause Ugwuonye’s businesses losses in the millions of dollars.
As a result of these events, Ugwuonye suffered severe damage, injury, personal and economic losses, including permanent injuries to his health.
COUNT I (Engaging in Acts of Torture and providing material support for the purpose of torture – Each and Every Defendant)
Ugwuonye repeats and re-allege all of the previous allegations in the foregoing paragraphs of this Complaint with the same force and effect, as if fully set forth herein again at length.
The Defendants acting individually or in concert with one another engaged in acts that constitute torture of Ugwuonye.
They were engaged in acts of torture and violations of human and civil rights in violation of the law of nations, international law and of individual countries and states in that they engaged in violent acts, or acts dangerous to human life that were intended to intimidate or coerce Plaintiff Ugwuonye.
The abuses described above were premeditated, politically motivated acts of violence committed against Ugwuonye for the purpose of instilling fear, and improperly influence an outcome of a case pending in the United States Courts.
As a direct and proximate result of the wrongful conduct of the Defendants, each and every one of them, jointly and severally, Ugwuonye has suffered conscious pain, suffering, pecuniary and economic damages, loss of support, loss of care, grief, anguish, loss of society, loss of services and other mental and physical injuries, and accordingly, Ugwuonye claims all damages allowed by law, including compensatory and punitive damages in excess of Twenty Five Million Dollar.
COUNT II (Assault and Battery– Each and Every Defendant)
Ugwuonye repeats and realleges all of the allegations of the foregoing paragraphs of the Complaint with the same force and effect as if fully set forth again at length.
As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’ actions as described hereinabove, Ugwuonye has suffered substantial damages including, but not limited to, physical harm, conscious pain, suffering, pecuniary and economic damages, grief, anguish, loss of society, loss of services and other mental and physical injuries, false arrest, and loss of freedom and accordingly, Ugwuonye claims all damages allowed by law, including compensatory and punitive damages in excess of Twenty Five Million Dollar.
COUNT III (Human Right Violation– Each and Every Defendant)
Ugwuonye repeats and realleges all of the allegations of the foregoing paragraphs of the Complaint with the same force and effect as if fully set forth again at length.
As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ actions as described hereinabove, Ugwuonye has suffered substantial damages including, but not limited to, physical harm, conscious pain, suffering, pecuniary and economic damages, grief, anguish, loss of society, loss of services and other mental and physical injuries, fear and apprehension of human rights violation, false arrest, and loss of freedom, unlawful denial of due process and access to justice, and accordingly, Ugwuonye claims all damages allowed by law, including compensatory and punitive damages in excess of Twenty Five Million Dollar.
NO ALTERNATIVE REMEDY IN NIGERIA
Ugwuonye repeats and realleges the foregoing allegations of all of the Complaint with the same force and effect as if fully set forth again herein.
Nigerian legal system, including its courts, does not have adequate remedy for this type of claim. Its substantive laws are inadequate and undeveloped. There is high level of corruption in the administration of justice. The Nigerian judicial institution are dysfunctional and lacking in independence and is marked by high incidence of undue executive interference in the judicial decision making process. The courts are understaffed and inadequately funded. Further, the executive arm of government and government officials such as in the Counter Defendants in this suite are notoriously non-respectful of court orders, which they routinely ignore.
Ugwuonye fears for his life in Nigeria were he to prosecute this claim in Nigeria against the powerful individual Defendants that control the government of Nigeria.
JURY DEMAND
Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury of any and all issues herein triable of right by a
______________________________
Ephraim Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire
Plaintiff
Tel: 202-459-3382
Emekaugwuonye@aol.com
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