Court nullifies Vaswanis’ deportation order

Akeem Nafiu, Lagos - 05.11.2009

A Federal high court in Lagos presided over by Justice Mohammed Liman has declared the deportation of the Vaswani brothers by the Federal Government as illegal.

According to the judge, the Federal Government neither observed the law nor followed due process in the deportation of the businessmen. The court also ordered the defendants not to confiscate, arrest the Vaswanis, or seal off their business premises or take actions that might lead to the disruption of their operations in the country.

The judge also stopped the government by themselves, agents, servants or departments from enforcing or giving effect to the letters dated April 8, 2009, withdrawing the expatriate quota of the plaintiffs.

On whether the deportation was an act of state, which is not subject to judicial review as argued by lawyer to the Federal Government, Chizeonu Okpoko, the court cited section 18, 19 and 45 of the Immigration Act, stating that the action of the government was an administrative one, which must be based on law and that the constitution empowers the court to determine whether those actions were in accordance with the law.

The Vaswani brothers, their company, Stallion Group Limited, and 30 expatriate staff members of the company had gone to the court in April this year, seeking leave to enforce their fundamental human rights against the order of the government to deport them from Nigeria.

The plaintiffs, in the suit, listed the Attorney-General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, Minister of Interior, Godwin Abbe, Nigerian Immigration Service, State Security Service and the then Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, as respondents in the suit.

In the application filed through their counsel, Professor Gabriel Olawoyin (SAN), they also asked for an order restraining the government by themselves, agents, servants, departments from enforcing or giving effect to the letters dated April 8, 2009, withdrawing the expatriate quota of the plaintiffs and stay all actions pending the determination of the originating summons.

The Vaswanis and others further urged the court for an order restraining the defendants from deporting them from Nigeria pending the determination of suit.

The plaintiffs also prayed the court for an order restraining the defendants from confiscating their assets or sealing off their business premises. However, the Federal Government through its lawyer, Okpoko, had opposed the application on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, because the withdrawal of the expatriate quota and the consequent deportation action taken by the Federal Government against the plaintiffs constituted an “Action of State.”

He submitted further that the said action could not be interfered with by the judicial branch of government as it lacked the requisite jurisdiction to hear the matter as was conceived.