Woman Sues IGP, Asks Court To Halt Police Action in Matrimonial Dispute

A businesswoman, Mrs. Mabel Alabijah Hussaini, has filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos against the Inspector-General of Police, senior police officers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), her estranged husband, and a real estate firm, alleging unlawful arrest, detention, extortion, and persistent harassment over what she described as a civil and matrimonial dispute.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1468/2025, Hussaini is asking the court to declare that the actions of the respondents violated her rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, private and family life, and freedom of movement as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution.

Listed as respondents are the Inspector-General of Police; the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja; the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force CID Annex, Alagbon; the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2 Command; CSP Bolugi; Inspector Abayomi Michael; the EFCC; her estranged husband, Mr. Adedeji Adesiyan; and Citadel Views Gardens and Estates Ltd.

According to court documents, Hussaini married Adesiyan in 2016 under native law and custom, and the marriage produced a daughter, now eight years old.

She told the court that in November 2024, her husband gave her $60,000 to invest in real estate and to set up a trust fund for their daughter.

She said she used the money as agreed by purchasing a property at E18, Citadel Estate, Ogombo Road, Lekki, Lagos, in the child’s name and opening a trust fund for her benefit.

Hussaini stated that the relationship later deteriorated after she discovered that Adesiyan had allegedly contracted other marriages in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

She claimed he subsequently relocated to the UK and later demanded a refund of the money, despite knowing it had already been invested for their child.

She alleged that he threatened her life when she explained that the funds were no longer available.

She further alleged that Adesiyan reported her to the police on allegations of theft.

While officers at Elemoro Police Station, Ibeju-Lekki, initially granted her bail after hearing her explanation, she claimed that the situation escalated on January 7, 2025, when officers from the Force CID Annex, Alagbon, allegedly arrested her and her eight-year-old daughter at gunpoint and took them to Alagbon.

According to Hussaini, she was verbally abused, humiliated, and detained for several hours without being allowed to fully state her case, all in the presence of her minor daughter.

She alleged that the officers demanded N2 million for her release but eventually compelled her to pay N500,000 through a POS operator after threatening to send her to prison.

She told the court that her lawyers petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, who allegedly directed that the matter be handled by the Zone 2 Police Command and treated as a civil dispute.

Despite this directive, she claimed that the officers involved proceeded to file criminal charges against her, which were later withdrawn after senior police authorities reportedly described the dispute as civil and matrimonial in nature.

Hussaini further alleged that the police officers continued to harass her and interfered with the property transaction by instructing the estate developer not to release documents relating to the Lekki property purchased for her daughter.

She said the actions of the respondents caused her and her child severe emotional and psychological trauma.

In her application, Hussaini is seeking an order restraining the respondents from further arresting, detaining, or harassing her over the dispute; a refund of the N500,000 allegedly extorted from her; and an order stopping any attempt to sell, investigate, or interfere with the property purchased in her daughter’s name.

She also asked the court to award N50 million in damages against the police officers and her estranged husband for alleged unlawful arrest, detention, and abuse of power.

She further seeks a declaration that the police lack constitutional authority to intervene in matrimonial disputes or to engage in debt recovery arising from civil transactions.