- Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has requested that the Federal High Court in Abuja order the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pay costs for prolonging his detention in Nigeria.
- This request is part of Gambaryan’s proposed amended original motion to enforce his fundamental rights, read in court by his lawyer, Tonye Krukrubo SAN.
In May 2024, Gambaryan filed a fundamental human rights violation suit against the NSA and EFCC, claiming his detention infringes his rights. However, the court hearing was rescheduled to June 19, 2024.
During the week's hearing, Gambaryan’s lawyer sought the court’s permission to amend the fundamental rights suit. In the initial suit, his lawyer reportedly said that the federal government was using his continued detention “as leverage to continue making demands on Binance.”
The applicant urged the court to declare his detention and the seizure of his international travel passport a violation of his fundamental rights and to restrain the authorities from detaining him concerning any investigations into Binance.
In the amended proposal, Krukrubo sought “the costs of this action on a full indemnity basis” in addition to the initial suit. An indemnity costs order seeks compensation for the expenses and inconvenience associated with litigation.
While Krukrubo sought to amend the suit, EFCC counsel Olanrewaju Adeola argued that the application for amendment was incompetent and should be refused by the court.
However, Justice Inyang Ekwo overruled the EFCC counsel and directed Gambaryan’s lawyer to serve the amended motion within two days, stating that parties have the legal right to amend their processes before judgment.
“The motion on notice by the applicant for amendment of his originating process dated 8 May 2024 is moved,” the judge stated.
Justice Ekwo also adjourned the case to July 9, 2024, for a full hearing on the amended motion and other applications. He ordered the applicant to pay the respondents ₦50,000 for the cost of the processes they filed in the initial fundamental rights suit.
While Gambaryan has been given the go-ahead to amend his initial suit and a chance for a hearing at a later date, his co-detained colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who fled custody leaving him behind, had his suit struck out.
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