The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a N5 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by 110 individuals alleged to be internet fraudsters against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, ruling that the case lacked merit.
Presiding over the matter, Justice James Omotosho held that the applicants had failed to establish that they were unlawfully detained by the anti-graft agency. The court delivered its verdict after hearing arguments from both parties.
The suit, which was filed via an originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/80/2025, was instituted against the EFCC and its Executive Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede.
The applicants, including four Chinese nationals—Zhang Xiaowen, Liu Zhiwei, Chen Yeqiu, and Lan Shunbin—alongside 106 Nigerian citizens, were arrested on January 9 inside a building located in the Katampe District of Abuja.
According to the EFCC, the arrest was based on credible intelligence linking the group to online fraud activities. The agency alleged that the Chinese nationals were orchestrating a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme and had enlisted Nigerian accomplices to help execute it.
The EFCC further claimed that the suspects used Virtual Private Networks to mask their identities while defrauding victims in the United Kingdom, posing online as hoteliers.
In response to their arrest, the applicants engaged a legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ishaka Dikko, to challenge their detention and assert violations of their fundamental rights.
They accused the EFCC of breaching their rights to dignity, personal liberty, and fair hearing as protected under Sections 34, 35, 36, 43, and 46 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The applicants sought a court declaration that their detention between January 9 and January 16 exceeded the constitutionally permitted duration, and therefore, was “illegal and unlawful.” They requested damages amounting to ₦5 billion.
Additionally, they asked the court to rule that the seizure of their international passports—bearing numbers E55480652, EL6128848, E91567245, and E99903655—was unlawful and contravened Sections 36, 43, and 44 of the Constitution.
Arguing on their behalf, Dikko informed the court that the EFCC had obtained a remand order on January 10, which was subsequently renewed on January 24 following the expiration of the initial order.
However, in his ruling, Justice Omotosho stated that the EFCC acted within the law in securing remand orders, particularly as the applicants were under investigation for offences that posed a national security threat.
He further pointed out that the agency’s decision to grant the applicants administrative bail was evidence that it had no intention of keeping them in custody indefinitely.
The judge held that the EFCC could not be faulted for the applicants’ failure to meet the conditions attached to their bail.
Consequently, Justice Omotosho dismissed the suit in its entirety and advised the applicants to face the charges leveled against them.
“The remand orders were legally permissible, given the allegations that the applicants’ actions posed a threat to national security,” the judge ruled.
He added, “The commission cannot be held liable for the applicants’ failure to meet the bail conditions.”
Justice Omotosho concluded by urging the applicants to respond to the allegations against them, which he said were of grave concern to national security.
