Danjuma seeks to gag the media

In a N208million law suit instituted against Lt. Gen Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd), at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the Former Defence Minister has asked the court to bar the media from commenting or reporting the proceedings of the case.

The suit which was brought before the Justice M.N. Yunusa by Manasseh Zorto, former Executive Director, Tita-Kuru Petrochemicals Limited (a company chaired by Danjuma), over the abuse of his rights, is asking the court to declare that his arrest by the officers of the Nigerian Police Force-SFU, Milverton, Ikoyi at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on January, 17, 2014 without justification was “wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional and a gross violation of his fundamental human rights as guaranteed by sections 35 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”

In its response, the Nigerian Police through its counsel, Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN contended that Zorto’s arrest and detention was “valid, legitimate, constitutional and lawful,” while Danjuma on his part has asked the Court to restrain Zorto or his agents “from further commenting, publishing and/or addressing third parties petitions on the subject matter of the suit pending the hearing and determining of the matter”.

Citing a recent publication of Zorto’s petition in a national daily, Danjuma’s Counsel informed the court that there was need to protect the res of the litigation; and to maintain status quo pending the final determination of the suit by the court.