Binance Executive Demands Court ‘Costs’ Over Prolonged Detention

Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan has called on the Federal High Court Abuja to award “costs” against the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his prolonged detention in Nigeria.

In the suit as announced before the court by his lawyer, Tonye Krukrubo SAN on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, with reference FHC/ABJ/CS/356/2024, dated May 8, 2024, Gambaryan proposed to amend the originating motion for the enforcement of his fundamental rights.

LEADERSHIP recalls that Gambaryan’s lawyer had, in his first fundamental right suit, asked Justice Inyang Ekwo to compel the NSA and the EFCC office to apologise to him over his detention in the country.

The matter was then adjourned till Wednesday, June 19 for hearing, ahead of which his lawyer sought the leave of court to amend his fundamental rights suit.

Gambaryan had earlier alleged in his initial fundamental rights suit that the Federal Government was using his continued detention “as leverage to continue making demands on Binance.

After hearing the parties on Wednesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo overruled the EFCC counsel and directed Gambaryan’s lawyer to serve the amended motion on the respondents within two days.

“The motion on notice by the applicant for amendment of his originating process dated May 8, 2024, is moved. The learned counsel for the respondents has adopted his counter affidavit in opposition to the application for amendment.

“I have studied the averments thereof and I am of the opinion that I ought to overrule the opposition to this amendment because, by law, parties are entitled to amend their processes even before judgment.

“I am minded therefore to grant the application for amendment,” the judge ruled while adjourning the case to July 9 for a full hearing on the amended motion and any other application.

The judge also ordered the applicant to pay the respondents N50,000 for the cost of the processes they filed in the initial fundamental rights suit.

Krukrubo had earlier explained to the court that his client is an American citizen who visited Nigeria on 26 February 2024, along with Nadeem Anjarwalla, solely to honour the invitation by Mr. Saad Abubakar of the NSA and Mr. Olalekan Ogunjobi of the EFCC for a meeting with government officials as representatives of Binance.

He added that after honouring the invitation, his client, who is not a board member of Binance, was detained afterward and has not been released.

The applicant then urged the court to declare his detention and the seizure of his international travel passport as a violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution, adding that Nigeria’s security agencies should be perpetually restrained from further detaining him concerning any investigation into or demands from Binance.

In his proposed amended originating motion, Krukrubo sought “the costs of this action on a full indemnity basis“, in addition to other reliefs contained in the initial suit.

The senior lawyer stressed in his proposed amended originating motion that, “The unlawful detention of the applicant (Gambaryan) by the respondents from February 26, 2024, to 27 February 2024 (period of detention pre-remand order) and from 12 March 2024 to 8 April 2024 (period of detention post expiry of the remand order, until arraignment) has caused immense hardship and emotional stress on the Applicant, his wife and children and other members of his family.”