Nigerian doctor sues Air France for $100m

Category: Africa

Date Added: 10 March 2010

LAGOS - A Nigerian doctor has filed a $100-million lawsuit against Air France for flying him to Lagos "under dehumanising conditions", court papers showed here Tuesday.

Olaseni Adesina, who claims to have lived in France for 34 years, said the airline brought him here in 2007 "without any deportation order issued by the French authorities and under dehumanising conditions."

In the suit, filed February 23 at the Federal high court in Lagos, Adesina also claimed he had been kidnapped by French secret police for several days before his deportation.

He also alleges being roughly treated as he was deported to Nigeria.

"I protested not to enter the aircraft of Air France, which caused the French officials to brutally kick me, twist my neck, strangulate my throat, tie my feet together with my belt and hauled me flatly into the waiting Air France plane," Adesina said

"Throughout the flight to Lagos I was subjected to psychological and physical trauma...I was denied food and water throughout the flight."

He said despite protests from other passengers, his handcuffs and leg chains were not removed.

"I was left handcuffed while disembarking from the aircraft of Air France, even though my leg chains were removed. My handcuffs were only removed when I was handed over to Nigerian immigration officials" in Lagos, he said in the lawsuit.

Adesina wants the court to declare his deportation was illegal and unconstitutional and that it violated his fundamental human rights.

He is also demanding $100 million (€74 million) in compensation for "infringement of his rights to dignity of human person, personal liberty and fair hearing."

No date has been fixed for a hearing and Air France officials in Nigeria were not immediately available for comment.

Source: AFP