Court Restrains Police From Harassing Chidi Odinkalu’s Lawyer, Gloria Ballason
Hon. Justice Hannatu L. Balogun of the Kaduna State High Court has on 21st day of July, 2020 granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Police “from acting on any executive powers, advice and/or any directive in any manner whatsoever and howsoever’ from violating the rights of a Lawyer, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason in discharging her duties as a Lawyer.
It would be recalled that Ballason is the lead counsel to Prof. Chidi Odinkalu in a suit involving the former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission and Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai.
She filed the application for the enforcement of her fundamental rights through her counsel, Messrs. Matthew Burkaa & Co, when police laid siege at her House of Justice workplace in November-December 2019.
Men from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) visited her office on multiple occasions between 27th day of November and December 2019 for no justifiable cause. The Nigeria Police later claimed that they acted based on a petition submitted at the office of the Governor which was transferred to them for investigation and that their perpetual visits to Ballason’s office was ‘ in furtherance to their investigation’
The Court ruled that the Nigeria Police breached Ballason’s right to the independent practice of her duty as a legal practitioner and violated Article 23 of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
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