In the suit filed on Monday, October 16, 2017, Dr. Aisha Tosan, the enigmatic presenter of the crime busting television programme, “Crime Fighters, Police and You”, is asking the Lagos  High Court to issue a declaration that she is entitled to the exercise of her fundamental rights to freedom of expression, of free speech and the press, that she should not be intimidated or silenced by the IGP through the instrumentalities of the police and that she should not be persecuted for freely expressing her unbiased and objective opinion as a citizen of Nigeria, on a burning national issue. She is also asking the court to resrain the IGP and the police from taking any step that may jeopardize her liberty, movement or freedom or the free exercise of her freedom of expression and the dissemination of information, in relation to her trade and practice of journalism, through broadcasting and media campaigns generally. In the suit filed on her behalf by eminent Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Dr. Tosan is contending that the interview that she recently granted to a national newspapers on the controversy that has dogged the police force generally, does not amount to a crime in law, for which the IGP and the police could set the law in motion against her, or for wihch she could be denied access to police facilities, since it is a public institution established by law for the proection of the lives and properties of all citizens. She wants the court to determine whether the IGP is empowered in law to ostracize a citizen from relating with or associating with the police, purely for expressing her opinion. In a 25 paragraph affidavit deposed to in support of her application, Dr. Tosan stated that she was a top crime correspondent with Vanguard newspapers before she retired to pursue a career in safety measures, effective policing and detection and prevention of crimes. She stated that through her numerous television programmes and media campaigns, she has helped to project the image of the police positively before the public and it will be unfair and unlawful, for the IGP to now seek to gag her through intimidation, with his signal to all police formations not to relate or associate with her. Dr. Tosan accused the IGP of not affording her any opportunity of any or fair hearing, in the determination of her civil rights and obligations, before a decision was taken to ostracize her and as such, the said decision amounts to a breach of her fundamental right to fair hearing, guaranteed by the Constituion and the African Charter. She stated further that the police hierarchy, through the Police Service Commission, have since confirmed all that she stated in her interview as true and correct and it will thus be better for the police to address the issues raised in her interview, instead of seeking to intimidate and persecute her as an innocent citizen. The details of the reliefs being sought in the suit are as follows:

  1. A DECLARATION that the Respondents are not entitled to arrest, detain or in any other manner restrict the liberty of the 1st Applicant, or set the law against her, on account of the exercise of her right to speech and freedom of expression on account of her interview as published in the Vanguard newspaper of October 7, 2017, in flagrant violation of the 1stApplicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
  2. A DECLARATION that the 1stApplicant is entitled to the free and unrestrained exercise of her freedom of expression as contained in the Vanguard newspaper publication of October 7, 2017 and that the said publication does not constitute a crime or an offence in law as to entitle the Respondents to arrest, detain, prosecute or in any other manner restrict the liberty of the 1st Applicant in flagrant violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
  3. A DECLARATION that the Applicants are entitled to the free and unrestrained exercise of their freedom of expression and the practice of their trade and occupation in relation to journalism, media practice and broadcasting without let or hindrance from the Respondents in flagrant violation of the Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
  4. A DECLARATION that the Applicants are entitled to a fair hearing from the Respondents, in the determination of their rights and obligations as it affects their freedom of expression and the press as guaranteed under sections 35, 36, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
  5. A DECLARATION that the directive and decision of the 1stRespondent, issued to all police formations in Nigeria, against the Applicants and their businesses, to stop them from relating, associating with or partaking in their programmes and activities, either on account of the exercise of their freedom of expression or generally in relation to the practice of their trade and occupation of journalism, media practice and broadcasting, amounts to a flagrant violation of the Applicants’ fundamental rights to fair hearing, freedom of expression and the press guaranteed under sections 35, 36, 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
  6. A DECLARATIONthat the 1st Applicant is entitled to move freely in any part of Nigeria and in particular Lagos State without let or hindrance from the Respondents in exercise of her fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40 & 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, & 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
  7. AN INJUNCTION restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from violating the fundamental rights of the 1stApplicant through unlawful arrest and detention or hindering the trade and practice of the 2nd Applicant, except and in a manner permitted and sanctioned by law.
  8. AN INJUNCTIONrestraining the respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from further constituting a threat or hindrance to the 1stApplicant’s lives, her property and journalism practice and business and trade, through the 2ndApplicant, either generally or in relation to the interview of the 1st Applicant published in the Vanguard newspaper of October 7, 2017.
  9. AN INJUNCTIONrestraining the respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from further persecuting, trailing or in any other manner taking steps that may jeopardize the liberty, freedom, life and journalism practice of the Applicants except and in a manner permitted and sanctioned by law.
  10. AN INJUNCTIONrestraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, privies or otherwise howsoever from further constituting a threat to the life, liberty, freedom and journalistic practice of the Applicants, either through arrest or by physical abuse or violence, or hindering their trade and business, either generally or for the purpose of preventing or disturbing her free movement within and out of Lagos State or indeed any part of Nigeria, or hindering or stopping the trade and practice of the Applicants.
  11. AN ORDERnullifying, voiding, cancelling and/or invalidating the directive from the 1stRespondent, to all police formations in Nigeria, from relating, associating with or partaking in any of the activities and programmes of the Applicants, on account of the exercise of their freedom of expression and the press, as guaranteed by law. 
  12. SUCH FURTHER OR OTHER ORDERSthat this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this suit.
The suit is yet to be assigned to any court for hearing.]]>

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