The Nigerian House of Representatives’ Public Petitions Committee received a petition urging the government to take immediate action regarding the abduction of ten individuals from the Nera Hotel in Abuja on January 5, 2018. The petition, filed by Fru Law Chambers on behalf of the victims and presented by legal counsel Joseph Awa Fru, demands accountability and justice for those affected.
Speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Barrister Joseph Awah Fru said, “The major issue about this matter is that professionals who came to Nigeria to seek asylum were allegedly abducted back to Cameroon. In the course of the abduction, they were also tried in Cameroon and then sentenced there.”
He further explained that “The petitioners are not Cameroonians. These petitioners are Nigerians by law, by fact, and by residence. By international law, they are Nigerian citizens who have legal standing to seek redress before this committee for what transpired. Since they are productive Nigerian citizens and since international and national law grants them the right of citizenship—either by registration or by operation of law—they are indeed citizens.”
Fru emphasised that whatever transpired during their abduction on 5 January 2018 at Nera Hotel, located in Abuja, falls squarely within the jurisdiction of the committee. He clarified that the petition is not asking the committee to interfere in the internal matters of Cameroon but to work within its mandate.
“We are saying that the DIA, the DSS, and all elements of the executive branch that were responsible for the refoulement of these petitioners are answerable before this committee. We request the House, in its advisory role, to compile a report that enumerates all the issues raised in this case. This report should be sent to the plenary, if necessary, for further adjudication. The plenary, as the final arm of government, should adjudicate on this matter because while the judiciary has spoken, the legislative arm, which executes foreign policy, has not spoken.”
In response, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Michael Irom, said, “So, you are asking the committee to adopt the report we just received as part of the evidence before us and then finalise a report for submission to the Committee of the Whole. However, we cannot proceed with that, as the report presents only one side of the story.”
He stated further, “This matter is deep. It is heavy. It is not a simple, low-hanging fruit matter. We need to get to the root of it and find a lasting solution.”
He advised that this matter should also involve ECOWAS, the Human Rights Commission, and other relevant bodies.
“We need to go back to the drawing board and do the needful. The committee cannot resolve this matter today or make a resolution. It is not possible. We need to take all necessary steps to ensure that this matter is handled fairly—not as a one-sided issue.”
Irom noted that a different approach would be taken. “The letters going out from tomorrow will request each entity or party involved to submit their responses in writing. They do not need to appear before us. Instead, we will use their written submissions to examine the matter critically.”The case was adjourned to 17 April 2025.
Recall that reports have it that over twenty unidentified armed men stormed the Nera Hotel on the night of January 5, 2018, forcibly taking ten individuals at gunpoint. The victims were allegedly handcuffed, hooded, and detained at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) facility in Abuja before being deported to Cameroon, where they were later sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal. Eyewitness accounts suggest that the operation was carried out without arrest warrants or charges.
Three Federal High Court rulings (Suit Nos. FHC/ABJ/CS/85/2018, FHC/ABJ/CS/147/2018, and FHC/ABJ/CS/271/2019) affirmed the illegality of the detention and ordered their release and compensation.
The UN Human Rights Commission Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (UN HRC WGAD) ruled on October 14, 2022, that the abductions were illegal and directed Nigeria to release and compensate the detainees.
Nigeria is a signatory to multiple human rights treaties, including the Refugee Convention of 1957 and its 1961 Protocol, which emphasize the principle of non-refoulement.
Fru urged the Nigerian government to facilitate the immediate release and compensation of the detainees, as mandated by Nigerian courts and the UN, conduct an independent investigation into the involvement of Nigerian security forces in the abduction and to pass a legislative resolution compelling the executive branch, including the Attorney General and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to act on the matter.
While there may be conflicting stories to the identity of individuals who carried out the arrests and the motives, this is a call to action and the urgent implementation of Communication 59/2022 of October 14, 2022, of the UN-HRC-WGAD.
Furthermore, the rulings in the three judgments of the Federal High Court of Abuja in 2019 which ordered the release and compensation of these petitioners is yet to be carried out.
As a leader in the West African region, the Nigeria Government should take action on the Abuja 2002 ruling in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/30/2002 between The Southern Cameroons Rep by Kelvin Ngwang Ngumne et al Vs the Attorney General Federal Republic of Nigeria, and intervene to resolve the conflict between Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun.
