Tonye Jaja rights suit targets ex AGF Abubakar Malami over alleged unlawful sack, intimidation and constitutional violations in Abuja

Tonye Jaja, a lawyer and former chairman of the governing board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, on Thursday filed a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, accusing him and five others of unlawful removal from office and intimidation by security agencies.

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In the suit marked FHC ABJ CS 125 2026, Tonye Jaja is seeking N1 trillion in damages, a public apology, and multiple declaratory reliefs against Abubakar Malami, Dayo Apata, former Solicitor General of the Federation, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Department of State Services.

The action centres on allegations that Abubakar Malami orchestrated Tonye Jaja’s removal as chairman of the governing board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission in breach of his constitutional right to fair hearing.

Court documents state that Tonye Jaja was appointed to the position on 13 May 2019 for a four year tenure.

According to the filings, Tonye Jaja said that while serving in office, he raised formal complaints against the director general of the commission and personally reported the matter to Abubakar Malami, then attorney general and minister of justice.

Tonye Jaja told the court that he met Abubakar Malami in his office and presented details of the complaint, but alleged that events took a dramatic turn while he awaited official action.

The suit claims that Tonye Jaja was removed from office without any query and without being given an opportunity to be heard, a move he described as unlawful and punitive.

His removal was allegedly formalised in a letter dated 15 October 2020, signed by Dayo Apata, informing him that he had been sacked as board chairman.

Beyond the loss of office, Tonye Jaja alleged that Abubakar Malami authorised a N2 million television announcement publicising his removal, a step he said deepened the reputational damage.

The suit further accuses security agencies of being used to intimidate him following his removal.

Tonye Jaja told the court that police officers invited him for questioning and later informed him that they found no wrongdoing, claiming they said they had been instructed to torment him but chose not to do so.

He also alleged that officers of the Department of State Services summoned him on the instructions of Abubakar Malami, but released him after concluding that he was innocent.

Following his removal, Tonye Jaja said he wrote to the president seeking reinstatement, without success.

He added that several institutions and individuals, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Nigerian Bar Association Garki Branch, senior lawyers, and civil service groups, also appealed for his reinstatement, but all efforts failed.

In a further explosive claim, Tonye Jaja alleged that he assisted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in exposing Abubakar Malami and another individual, an action he said triggered retaliation against him.

Based on these claims, Tonye Jaja is asking the court to declare that his removal without a hearing violated his constitutional rights and to order the respondents to jointly and severally pay N1 trillion as compensation.

He is also seeking a public apology in two national newspapers and N5 million as the cost of the suit.