Nigerian Teenager Sues Lawmaker for N100million Damages after Illegal Detention Over Facebook Post

A 19-year-old man, Promise Etete, has dragged a member of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Uduak Odudoh, to the court of law to compel the lawmaker to pay him N100 million as compensation over his illegal detention.

Etete, who is also seeking an apology from the lawmaker, accused Odudoh of giving the police the order to arrest him sometime in 2020.

The police had reportedly arrested and detained the young man and consequently charged him with a threat to life and defamation of character after he posted a comment against the lawmaker on Facebook.

In the post, Odudoh who is representing Ikot Abasi and Eastern Obolo State Constituency was accused of representing a fraction of his constituents and not his entire constituency.

Premium Times reports that Etete said Ikot Abasi, with “scam leaders”, has continued to remain “underdeveloped”.

According to Inibehe Effiong, Etete's counsel, Etete had deactivated his Facebook account but that was after the police had had access to the article and printed copies of it.

Mr Effiong further explained that the charges against Etete were stuck out by the magistrate in December 2020 after the lawmaker, Odudoh, failed to appear in the court twice when the case was called.

Meanwhile, on August 9, Mr Effiong, filed a suit in a State High Court, Uyo, seeking a court declaration of Mr Etete’s arrest and detention as illegal and a breach of his fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement, as guaranteed by Section 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Joined in the suit are the Nigeria Police, and four others.

Mr Etete has however reactivated his Facebook account where he once again in a recent post, criticised Odudoh for donating wooden desks to a primary school in his constituency.

He added that the donation was an 'eyes service' undertaken in preparation for the coming general elections in 2023.