A
Nigerian Air Force personnel, Igbobie Uzezi, who accused one of her superiors,
Flight Lieutenant B.S Vibelko, of drugging and raping her in 2011, has sued him
along with the Air Force, Chief of Air Staff, and Attorney-General of the
Federation, for her unlawful dismissal.
The
suit, number FHC/L/CS/10/17, was filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos
Division on January 5, 2017, by the Malachy Ugwummadu Chambers on behalf of the
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, which is handling the case.
The
court processes obtained, stated that the “violent rape and sexual assault” of
Uzezi was a “flagrant violation of her fundamental rights to life, dignity of
human person and personal liberty.”
Uzezi
accused Vibelko of assaulting her on May 17, 2011 with claims that she
contracted a sexually transmitted disease in the process.
She
said in her suit, “I was arrested and detained at the guardroom within the Air
Force Base, Victoria Island, Lagos in an inclement and dehumanising condition
with hard labour for a period of 14 days from May9 to 23, 2013 on the orders
and prompting of the chief of air staff, air officer commandant, and the flight
lieutenant, without charging me to a court of law or even making my offences
known to me.”
According
to the suit, the claimant was again detained within the Air Force Base, Ikeja,
Lagos for another 10 days from October 1 to 10, 2015 allegedly on the orders of
the names mentioned earlier.
Her
lawyers claim that Uzezi was dismissed from service without allowing her a fair
hearing on allegations that Vibelko, her former instructor took undue advantage
of her “violently drugging and raping her against all known codes of discipline
and laws of both the Nigerian Armed Forces Act and Criminal laws of Nigeria.”
Uzezi
is asking the court to award her the sum of N500m jointly and severally against
the chief of air staff, air officer commandant and also the flight lieutenant
as general and exemplary damages for the breach of her fundamental rights.
Uzezi
joined the Air Force in 2010 at the age of 19. She said she was still a virgin
at the time she was allegedly raped.
Source:Punch
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