Abuja-based activist Sesugh Akume has filed a notice of appeal against a Federal High Court judgment that dismissed his suit challenging the National Human Rights Commission’s handling of his complaint over an alleged military attack on his community in Benue State.
In a statement issued on Friday, Akume said his lawyers lodged the appeal against the ruling delivered by Justice Peter O. Lifu in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1135/2024. The case, Sesugh Akume v National Human Rights Commission & 2 Ors, centred on an alleged March 7, 2023 incident involving personnel of Operation Whirl Stroke at Jootar, near Zaki-Biam in Sankera.
Akume alleged that the operation resulted in the death of Iniongo Verve, serious injury to Aondowase Abeda, and the seizure of nearly 100 motorcycles belonging to community members. He reported the matter to the NHRC on March 31, 2023. The Commission’s Benue office conducted a preliminary investigation, visited the scene and gathered evidence before transferring the file to headquarters in Abuja.
According to Akume, the NHRC later informed him in a November 7, 2023 letter that it had forwarded the complaint to the Nigerian Army for investigation. The letter stated the Army would conduct a detailed inquiry, interview relevant parties, and that the Commission would thereafter relay the findings.
Akume said the NHRC failed to conclude its own investigation despite repeated follow-ups, including letters to the Executive Secretary and the Chairman of the Governing Council in early 2024.
He filed the suit on August 8, 2024. The matter was heard on March 10, 2026, and judgment delivered on June 26, 2026. The court held that while the NHRC has a mandatory duty to investigate human rights violations, the law does not prescribe a rigid procedure. Seeking information from the alleged violator, Justice Lifu ruled, did not amount to surrendering decision-making authority. The suit was dismissed on the ground that Akume had failed to establish that the Commission acted outside its powers under the National Human Rights Commission (Amendment) Act, 2010.
Akume said his appeal would challenge several findings he described as inconsistent with the evidence on record. He pointed to the November 7, 2023 letter stating the Army would investigate and that the NHRC would inform him of the outcome. He also contested the court’s treatment of delays, an alleged invitation from a military formation that was itself the subject of the complaint, and the handling of a pre-action notice bearing the Commission’s received stamp.
He described the judgment as “perverse,” arguing that a finding is perverse when it runs counter to the evidence, ignores material before the court, or rests on matters not established. “Anyone reading the judgment beside the record set out here can judge for themselves whether these findings can stand,” he said.
Akume further highlighted the NHRC’s counter-affidavit of October 16, 2024, which stated that dealing with the Army sometimes required “tact, patience and tolerance” because of the nature of its work. He argued that the Commission possesses statutory powers to summon and compel evidence and is not subject to the direction or control of any other authority in the exercise of its functions.
The activist noted that documents referred to in his statement were filed in the suit and that certified true copies of the judgment, originating summons, affidavits and exhibits are available from the Federal High Court registry.
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