Aisha Buhari, the first lady of Nigeria, has been sued by Zainab Kassim, a former personal assistant to her, for kidnapping and abusing her in the presidential villa.
From June 2015 until September 2019, Mrs. Kassim worked as the first lady’s assistant for four years. She was then named the president’s special assistant from September 2019 until her disengagement in February 2022.
Mrs. Kassim said in a statement signed by her attorney, “Deji Ajare,” that she was taken hostage by State Security Service (SSS) agents and carried to the presidential mansion, where the first lady beat her.
She claimed the return of her Note 20 Ultra mobile phone and compensation in the amount of N100 million.
According to the statement, “On November 18, 2022, acting at the direction of Mrs. Aisha Buhari, DSS officers kidnapped Mrs. Zainab Kassim and took her to the Presidential Villa where she was severely abused, dehumanized, and abused by the first lady herself and officers of the DSS and Police, on unfounded accusations of deleting the first lady’s posts on social media.” “Mrs. Zainab was ultimately confined for four (4) days in abhorrent conditions and was denied access to her family, attorneys, and medications despite having told them she had hypertension. During her detention, she passed out and needed to be taken to the hospital for emergency care.
“Even after her release, those acting on behalf of the first lady have continued to intimidate and threaten Mrs. Zainab Kassim to deter her from trying to pursue legal recourse for the first lady’s violation of her rights.”
According to the statement, Mrs. Kassim had filed a fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Mrs. Buhari, the director general of SSS, and the inspector general of police.
These are the details of Mrs. Kassim’s hearing:
A DECLARATION that the applicant’s kidnapping, arrest, and detention between November 18 and November 22, 2022, as well as the threat to further arrest and detain the applicant by agents of the 2nd and 3rd respondents on the 1st respondent’s orders and directives, without a court order, is unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null, and void and violates her rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement
A DECLARATION that the applicant’s treatment by the first respondent and the second and third respondents’ agents on November 18, 2022, amounted to torture, brutality, and dehumanization and violated her right to human dignity.
A DECLARATION that the threats made against the applicant by the representatives of the second and third respondents are illegal, unconstitutional, torture, and a violation of her rights to life, a fair trial, and human dignity if the applicant pursues any claims for the enforcement of her fundamental rights against the respondents.
An order prohibiting the Respondents from further kidnapping, arresting, detaining, torturing, threatening to kidnap, arrest, detain, or murder the Applicant, or from violating the Applicant’s fundamental rights, whether by themselves, their agents, or subordinates.
AN ORDER mandating the immediate handover of the Applicant’s Note 20 Ultra mobile phone to the 2nd Respondent.
Damages of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) are sought jointly and severally against the respondents.
