A human rights storm is set to hit the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday as an Abuja mother, Hafsat Aminu Muhammad, drags her ex-husband, Umar Lawal Lala, and a serving officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Yahaya Shehu Dongoyaro, to court over alleged gross violation of her fundamental rights, brutal assault, and a shocking sponsored rape plot, demanding N120 million in damages.
The suit is being championed by human rights advocacy group, Global Integrity Crusade Network, GICN, alongside frontline litigation firm, Graylaw Practice LP, acting on a pro-bono basis. The legal team led by human rights advocate and Founding Partner of Graylaw Practice LP, Edward Omaga Esq., confirmed that all court processes have been finalized for filing.
According to the court affidavit, the genesis of the crisis was the dissolution of Hafsat’s marriage in January 2026 by an Islamic Court. The victim lamented that the marriage which produced four daughters was ended solely because she could not produce a male child.
In her statement, Hafsat said, “My marriage was dissolved because I did not have a male child among my four daughters. Since then, my ex-husband has made life unbearable for me. He took my three older daughters from me and left me with only my infant baby.”
She further alleged a sinister plot that has shocked human rights observers. She narrated, “My former husband sent his friend, Yahaya Shehu Dongoyaro, who is an Immigration Officer, to forcefully rape me. The plan was to record the act to humiliate me and destroy my reputation in the society. I struggled and escaped from him.”
The ordeal, she said, escalated to physical violence and looting on September 28, 2026, at her apartment in Garki 2, Abuja. Recounting the incident, Hafsat said, “I briefly stepped out to buy food for my infant baby. When I came back, I met some men inside my house packing my belongings and taking them to the house of Yahaya Shehu Dongoyaro. When I tried to stop them, they beat me mercilessly and slammed my head repeatedly against the glass of a vehicle.”
The items allegedly looted, converted or destroyed during the raid include N2 million worth of commercial business stock, 31 grams of gold jewellery, critical academic documents and personal clothing, essential household appliances, kitchen utensils, electronics, and foodstuffs meant for her infant, alongside severe damage to the locks, burglar-proofing, doors and air conditioning units of the apartment.
Hafsat, who said she was left financially incapacitated and unable to afford a lawyer to fight what she described as powerful interests, said, “I had no money to go to court. I had nothing left. That was why I cried out to GICN for help on July 22, 2026.”
Acting on her complaint, GICN mobilized its legal machinery. Graylaw Practice LP, acting under its corporate pillar of giving back to society through charity, has taken up the case.
Speaking on the development, Edward Omaga Esq., said, “Graylaw Practice LP will continue to deploy its legal might to defend vulnerable citizens against bullying and domestic oppression. No one, no matter how highly placed or connected, has the right to violate the fundamental rights of another citizen. We have finalized all processes and we are demanding N100 million in general damages and N20 million in special damages against the respondents.”
He added, “We are seeking declarations that the respondents violated her rights, injunctions restraining them from further threats, harassment, assaults or interference with her property, and an order compelling the immediate return of all looted belongings, business assets and documents.”
He urged human rights advocates, civil society organizations and women’s rights groups across Nigeria to monitor the proceedings at the FCT High Court, stressing that, “This case represents the struggle of many voiceless women suffering in silence across the country. Justice for Hafsat is justice for all vulnerable women.”
