Nigerian doctor sues US govt for over two years unlawful detention, seeks $400m compensation

A Nigerian living in the US, Segun Adeoye, has sued the American government over what he termed unlawful detention.

Mr Adeoye, a medical doctor and specialist in family medicine who trained in Nigeria, Ghana and the US, is seeking nearly $400 million in compensatory and punitive damages for his unlawful detention, according to the civil rights violation suit filed by his lawyer.

Because of the detention, which lasted for 30 months, Mr Adeoye lost his two houses and is now diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD), the attorney, Femi Ogunjumelo of Mayday Law Office, Houston, Texas, said in the court filing obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

Femi Ogunjumelo, Dr Adeoye’s attorney

Besides his PTSD, which he is now under indefinite treatment for, he is also suffering from reputational harm, having been ostracised by his professional colleagues, thereby finding it difficult to get a good job in a good hospital.

He also said he could not give his father, who sadly passed on while he was incarcerated, a befitting burial because the court denied him bail on the premise that he constituted a flight risk.

After about 30 months in pre-trial detention, Mr Adeoye was discharged and acquitted by a jury on 15 March 2024. The jury cleared him of the two charges preferred against him. He said his experience while in prison was like a horror film. He said he would not wish his enemy to suffer a similar ordeal.

The family medicine specialist said in an interview with a local newspaper in Houston that he had lived a near-perfect life. He said it was more than shocking that he had to ask the FBI agent if he was sure he was the person under arrest.

“I had my dad while I was in jail. I had no time to grieve or attend his funeral. He died thinking the son he raised rightly was locked in jail,” Mr Adeoye said.

Despite his release from his unlawful detention, he has yet to get back his passport and green card, reportedly being withheld by federal authorities.

Mr Adeoye’s mother in Nigeria is also sick, while 13 of his family members who were living with him in Texas and whom he generously cared for before his arrest in 2021 have scattered all over, including some relocating to Canada.

Arrest and detention

Mr Adeoye’s ordeal began on 22 September 2021 when he was arrested by federal agents at Winkler County Hospital, Kermit, Texas, where he had gone to provide medical assistance during an upsurge in COVID-19 cases.

It was his first day at work at the hospital, but it also proved to be his last there as he was whisked away and clamped into prolonged detention for nearly 28 months without trial.

He was arrested alongside 22 others believed to be involved in a romance scam that stole nearly $17 million from several Americans, companies and groups, numbering over a hundred.

Parts of the proceeds of the scam were wired abroad, especially to Africa and Asia, for sundry transactions, according to a news report of the indictment.

As of the time of the indictment in the Eastern District of Texas, Acting US Attorney Nicholas J.Ganjei said, “The criminal conduct alleged in this case is sophisticated in its means, expansive in its scope and callous in its aims.”

Continuing, Mr Ganjei said, “The indictment alleges a scheme where all manner of fraud -including romance and investment scams- was unleashed on an unsuspecting American public, including the elderly and most vulnerable, with the ill-gotten gains siphoned off and funnelled overseas. The amount of financial and emotional loss alleged in this case is nothing short of staggering.”

The charges, harrowing trial, acquittal

Following his arrest and detention, the Department of Justice (DoJ) charged him and others with a two-count indictment: conspiracy to commit money and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

If convicted of the charges, each defendant would face a minimum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and 10 years for money laundering.

Of the 23 persons accused of the fraud, Mr Adeoye was the only one discharged and acquitted by the jury on 15 March 2024, less than 30 days after his trial, which commenced on 26 February 2024.

All along, Mr Adeoye said he knew he would be acquitted of the charges as he had nothing to do with the crime. His only worry was how to get his reputation back after the ordeal must have ended.

His judgement of acquittal was signed by Amos L. Mazzini, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division.

But Mr Adeoye’s acquittal did not just happen on a silver platter. He practically went through hell, as he narrated and corroborated by his attorney, Mr Ogunjumelo. He was clamped into detention for nearly 30 harrowing months, denied bail on two occasions even when there were legitimate grounds to grant him bail and had his trial unnecessarily prolonged incessantly, despite his applications for a speedy and separate trial, thereby breaching his rights to a fair hearing.

According to his lawyer, Mr Adeoye is now considered a victim of the fraudulent scheme by others rather than being a co-conspirator, which formed the basis of his eventual acquittal by the jury.

Clue to Adeoye’s shocking arrest

It happened that one of his childhood friends, now convicted, was one of the perpetrators of the financial heist.

So, Mr Adeoye said officials had erroneously thought he was part of the conspiracy to commit the fraud based on association until the jury found him innocent of all the charges.

Mr Ogunjumelo said Mr Adeoye has become a different person since he came out of prison. He said no big hospital wants to hire him despite his expertise and high qualifications. He also lost his three medical practices while in detention.

The suit, the claims

Mr Adeoye filed the suit on 22 October before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The US and its agents are the defendants.

Among others, the suit claims that Mr Adeoye was denied a prompt detention hearing under 18 USC and 3142(f) while his ordeal lasted.

It also claims that he was denied due process under the 5th and 14th Amendments, in addition to being denied protection against unlawful seizure, wrongful detention and violation of the Speedy Trial Act of 1974.

Apart from the above, the suit also claims that Mr Adeoye was denied bail twice, despite insufficient evidence and that his rights under the Speedy Trial Act were violated, causing profound damage to both his personal and professional life.

Detained for more than 28 months without a trial, Mr Adeoye claims that the defendants breached the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 and that the unlawful detention caused him to suffer personal, emotional, financial and reputation harm.

Prayers

Mr Adeoye presented six prayers to the court. The first one is for $320 million in compensatory damages for the significant emotional distress, reputational damage, loss of income and destruction of his medical practice caused by the defendant’s action.

The second seeks $50 million punitive damages against the defendants – the American government and its agents – as punishment for their “willful, malicious and reckless disregard for his constitutional rights and to deter similar conduct in the future”.

Mr Adeoye is also seeking declaratory relief that the defendants’ action violated his constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment, the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 and other principles of due process.

He also wants the court to award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in bringing the action.

Besides the above, Mr Adeoye also wants the court to award interest on pre- and post-judgements on all compensatory and punitive damages as permitted by law.

The Department of Justice has yet to respond to this newspaper’s email enquiries seeking its response to the suit.