Attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and the director-general of the
They also denied preventing the couple from travelling abroad. Similarly, the duo faulted a claim by El-Zakzaky and his wife that the federal government frustrated their last medical trip to
They spoke in their separate counter-affidavits filed in response to the fundamental rights enforcement suits filed by El-Zakzaky and his wife before the
El-Zakzaky and his wife accused the
They accused the DG, SSS of refusing to respond to a letter by their lawyer, demanding for the release of the passports.
The DG, SSS (named as the first respondent in both suits), in the counter affidavit, faulted all the claims by the applicants, argued that the suits were speculative and prayed the court to dismiss them.
"The first respondent did not at any time collect, take nor keep the applicants' international passport or any other travelling documents of the applicant;
"The director of the
"The first respondent did not place the applicants on "red flag" restrictions and does not also intend to do so at present. The last time the first respondent placed the applicants on restriction was the period between
The
Part of the counter-affidavit reads: "The second respondent did not authorise the seizure of the applicants' international passport or any other travelling document and is also not in custody of the same and has not acted in any way to prevent the applicants from travelling outside
"The second respondent did not direct the Nigerian immigration Service to place any form of travel ban or restriction on the applicants and is also not aware that the first respondent ever issued such a directive.
"The Nigerian immigration Service has also not stated that such a ban or restriction exists at the instance of any of the respondents.
"
On the applicants' claim that they needed to travel abroad for medical attention, the
"That the entire depositions in relation to the health of the applicants have been heavily slanted and exaggerated. The applicants' Exhibits 5 & 6, which are based on alleged tests conducted two years ago in 2019, do not convey a situation of emergency or medical condition that cannot be adequately treated in
"The said Dr.
"The applicants do not have any foreign medical appointment in any country which is being jeopardised by the alleged absence of their international passports."
The
"The choice of
"As widely reported in the media, on arrival in
"Nigerian security agents only supervised his medical trip as ordered by the court. Contrary to the depositions in paragraph 5(d) of the supporting affidavit, the applicant frustrated his own medical treatment," the
El-zakzaky and his wife stated in their suits that their passports were last seen in possession of the
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