The Federal High Court in Abakaliki, on Tuesday, disbanded the South-East security outfit – Ebubeagu – in Ebonyi State.
The disbandment, according to reports, was as a consequence of several alleged human rights abuses, extortion, illegal arrests and illegal use of firearms by the personnel.
The court ordered the Ebonyi State Government to urgently pay the some of N50,000,000 to a former Commissioner for Information in the State, Chief Abia Onyike, who the security outfit, in November 2022, allegedly abducted and tortured for over two hours.
The plaintiff had, through his counsel Micheal Odo, approached Justice Riman Fatun, asking that the court should determine “whether the Ebonyi State House of Assembly has the constitutional powers to enact the Ebonyi State Ebebuagu Security Agency Law No. 005 of 2021, having regard to the provisions of item No. 45 of the Second Schedule (Exclusive Legislative List) in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the National Security Agencies Act (Cap. N78) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
He contended that his arrest, detention and torture by men of the regional security outfit on November 11, 2022 was unlawful.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, the court declared that the establishment of Ebonyi State Ebubeagu Security Agency was unconstitutional, null and void.
The judge declared that the Ebonyi State Ebubeagu Security Agency and the Ebonyi State Ebubeagu Corps have no powers to mount roadblocks on Federal highways and major roads in Ebonyi State.
The court ordered that personnel of the security outfit be disarmed.
It equally issued an order of perpetual of injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, servants and privies from “recognising, parading or continuing to recognise or parade any person or persons as a state or regional security outfit in the guise of Ebubeagu Security Agency or Ebonyi State Ebubeagu Corps.”