The Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has filed a lawsuit against the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, alleging a violation of his fundamental rights.
Gambaryan’s legal action, initiated through an originating motion dated March 18 and filed by his attorney, Olujoke Aliyu, is one among two suits.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Binance Africa regional manager who fled lawful custody on March 22, has also lodged a separate suit for the enforcement of rights before Justice Ekwo.
Both Gambaryan and Anjarwalla have named the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the EFCC as the first and second respondents in their respective suits, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, seeking identical reliefs.
Gambaryan, a US citizen in charge of financial crime compliance at a cryptocurrency exchange, filed an application for a declaration that his detention and the confiscation of his international travel passport were in violation of Sections 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He claimed that these actions constituted a breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty as enshrined in the Constitution.
Furthermore, he requested an order for the respondents to release him from custody and to return his international travel passport immediately.
Additionally, Gambaryan sought a perpetual injunction to prevent the respondents and their agents from further detaining him in connection with any investigations or demands related to Binance.
The executive also requested that the respondents issue a public apology and sought compensation for the legal costs of this action on a full indemnity basis.
In a statement in support of the suit, he said he is an American citizen who visited Nigeria on Feb. 26 February, along with fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla, as a representative of Binance, to honour the invitation of the ONSA and EFCC to discuss issues relating to Binance in Nigeria.
Giving an 11-ground argument why his application should be granted, he said he and his colleague, Anjarwalla, dutifully attended the meeting.
He said after the meeting the two of them were detained by the respondents and had remained in detention since then.
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He said he did not commit any offence during the meeting, and neither was he informed in writing of any offence he personally committed in Nigeria at any other time.
“The only reason for his detention is because the government is requesting information from Binance and making demands on the company,” he said, adding that he was not a member of the Board of Directors of Binance.
When the two suits were called on Thursday, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, appeared for Anjarwalla and Gambaryan
Krukrubo told the court that though the respondents were served two days ago, they were not represented in court.
The senior lawyer, however, drew the attention of the court to their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla filed on March 26.
Although Krukrubo did not give details of why they were withdrawing their legal representation, this might not be unconnected to the disappearance of the applicant in custody.
Justice Ekwo, noting the withdrawal of legal representation, stated, “This means the applicant lacks legal representation and necessitates an adjournment for the applicant to seek legal counsel and for the respondents to have an opportunity to appear in court.”
The judge then postponed the case until April 8 for further mention. Additionally, at the resumed hearing of Gambaryan’s suit, Krukrubo mentioned that although the processes had been served on ONSA and EFCC, they still had time to respond.
He requested a postponement, noting that the respondents’ deadline to file their applications would be the following Thursday.
Justice Ekwo, therefore, deferred the case until April 8 for further proceedings.
