Lawyer has sued Ex-AGF Malami among others for alleged rights abuse and sought N1trn damages.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Tonye Jaja, a legal practitioner, has instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and five other parties before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged violations of his constitutional rights.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/125/2026, Jaja is demanding ₦1 trillion in damages, a public apology, and multiple declaratory reliefs against Malami; Dayo Apata, former Solicitor-General of the Federation; the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation; the Nigeria Police Force (NPF); and the Department of State Services (DSS).
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The claimant alleged that the defendants unlawfully orchestrated his removal as chairman of the governing board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).
According to court documents, Jaja was appointed chairman of the NCC governing board on May 13, 2019, for a statutory four-year tenure. He told the court that during his tenure, he petitioned the then AGF over alleged misconduct by the director-general of the commission.
Jaja said he personally met Malami and submitted details of his complaint, but while awaiting action, events took an unexpected turn.
“While waiting for the 1st respondent to act on the applicant’s complaint against the director-general of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents sacked the applicant as chairman of the governing board… without any query and without giving the applicant opportunity to be heard,” the suit stated.
He said his removal was formally communicated in a letter dated October 15, 2020, signed by Apata, adding that he was denied fair hearing as required by law.
Jaja further alleged that Malami paid ₦2 million for a television announcement publicising his removal from office.
Beyond the loss of his position, the lawyer claimed he was subjected to intimidation and harassment by security agencies. He told the court that police officers invited him for questioning and later admitted that he had no case to answer, but allegedly disclosed that they were paid to “deal with and torment” him.
He also accused the DSS of similar actions, claiming operatives told him they were instructed to act against him but later released him after finding no wrongdoing.
Following his sack, Jaja said he wrote to the President seeking reinstatement without success. He added that appeals by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Garki Branch, senior lawyers and civil service groups also failed to yield results.
The claimant further alleged that he assisted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in exposing alleged wrongdoing involving Malami and another individual, an action he claimed triggered a plot against him.
Based on these allegations, Jaja is asking the court to declare that his removal without due process violated his fundamental rights and to order the respondents to jointly and severally pay ₦1 trillion as compensation. He is also seeking a public apology in two national newspapers and ₦5 million as the cost of the suit.
The court has yet to fix a date for hearing.
Meanwhile, Malami is currently standing trial alongside his wife and son over allegations bordering on money laundering.
