Court adjourns Pfizer, Kano case to May

Kola Oyelere, Kano - 30.04.2008

IN continuation of a legal battle between Kano state and Pfizer Pharmaceutical company, Kano State High court has adjourned till May 27, 2008 the criminal case instituted by the state government against Pfizer to enable one of the accused persons, Mr Segun Dogunro enforce his fundamental human rights at Federal high court in Lagos today.

According to Justice Shehu Atiku who was told yesterday by the Kano State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Aliyu Umar, that the state government had been taken to Federal High Court in Lagos by one of the accused to enable him enforce his fundamental human rights for not following normal process before his arrest was executed.

He therefore informed the judge that the state government was taken to Lagos Federal High Court on the ground that the arrest of the accused violated the fundamental human rights of the accused.

Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN, lead counsel for the Pfizer, told the court that he had filed an application at the Lagos Federal High Court over the violation of the fundamental human rights of his client,Mr Dogunro, who he said was arrested in Lagos on the order of the Kano High Court and the arrest executed without the endorsement of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

He contended that since the Federal High court never endorsed the arrest of his client and police merely went to Lagos and effected his arrest, it was a violation of his client’s fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution.

Chief Idigbe further said that the Lagos case was significant for our federation in Nigeria.

He stressed that there was need to adjourn the case to attend the Lagos federal high court case scheduled, saying that besides that, there were numerous applications on the ground which the Kano High Court has to address before the proper hearing of the case.

Justice Shehu Atiku, after listening to the arguments from the parties, ruled that the case be adjourned till May 27 by that time the position of the case in Lagos would have been known.