A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Maitama has dismissed a N20 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) by Mrs. Christiana Dagogo-George, Project Manager of Wiseworld Firm Consult Limited.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, May 23, 2025, Justice U.P. Kekemeke held that the applicant failed to substantiate claims of unlawful detention and breach of her right to personal liberty during her arrest by the anti-corruption agency in October 2022.
Dagogo-George had approached the court seeking redress over what she described as a violation of her fundamental human rights by the ICPC. She claimed that she was unlawfully arrested and detained between October 17 and 19, 2022, in connection with contracts awarded to her company by the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF).
However, in its defence, the ICPC presented a counter-affidavit asserting that the arrest and detention were lawful and carried out in the course of an investigation into alleged contract fraud involving eight training projects awarded to companies allegedly linked to Dagogo-George.
According to the ICPC, through its spokesperson Demola Bakare, Director of Public Enlightenment and Education, each of the eight contracts was worth N36,964,441, with the training sessions intended to be held in eight separate locations across Nigeria.
Investigations revealed, however, that all eight companies were controlled by Dagogo-George, and that only three out of the eight planned training sessions were actually conducted, despite full payments being made for all.
“After payment was made to the Applicant in respect of the eight locations, the training sessions were subsequently merged into three locations, and the funds meant for the remaining five locations were diverted to personal use by the Applicant,” the ICPC stated in its court filings.
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The Commission further alleged that Dagogo-George was granted bail on the same day she voluntarily appeared for questioning, but she later violated her bail conditions by refusing to respond to additional summons. Her bail was revoked, and she was re-arrested before being granted new bail in January 2023.
Additionally, the ICPC submitted documents indicating that the applicant had undertaken to refund N10 million of the misused public funds, further substantiating the corruption allegations against her.
In his ruling, Justice Kekemeke noted that Dagogo-George failed to establish any credible evidence of rights violations. He emphasized that lawful arrests and invitations for investigations do not amount to a breach of fundamental rights under Nigerian law.
“I have also carefully examined the documents attached to the Applicant’s Written Address. They are a mere surplusage. They carry no legal weight before this Court and are hereby discountenanced. In totality, the Applicant has not made out a case for the grant of the reliefs sought. The application fails and is hereby dismissed,” the judge ruled.
