By Renate Rivers

The saga surrounding the overstaying Nigerian man Mr Okoro Williams Nnamdi has just kicked up a notch with the start of his lawsuit this week against the Government in pursuit of over $12 million tala.

Some background in the lead up to his claims against the Government of Samoa. 

According to his testimony, Mr Nnamdi left the African continent bound for American Samoa in October 2008 to rejoin with his American Samoa fiancee – whom he had met in the Republic of Congo whilst he was there for business and she for a holiday.

On his way to meet her, he travelled via Congo, Kenya, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, Fiji and Samoa.  He and his fiancee has planned to wed, but due to restrictions in American Samoa they returned to Samoa and married here on 18^th December 2008.  They were issued a marriage certificate and members of her family returned to American Samoa to process his papers with the certificate in tow.  He says he flew over to American Samoa on 24^th December. 

Whilst there, he was notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he was wanted in connection with charges of theft leveled against him by Greg Alalatoa of Samoa Foreign Exchange Ltd.  He says he was advised by the American Samoa Attorney General to return to Samoa to face the charges. 

He was accused of stealing USD$10,000.  In the subsequent court case, Greg testified that Okoro approached him for a loan of USD$10,000 with the promise that he would return the money that same day after securing finance for a business venture.  He failed to return with the money and instead flew out to Pago Pago. 

Okoro says he did not wish to return to Apia, but upon advice from the AG of American Samoa, he flew back.  He claims that upon his arrival, his passport was taken by Immigration officials and he was taken to Police headquarters where he was assaulted by Mr Alalatoa in full view of Police.  He was  interviewed, his personal effects taken from him (including the alleged 26,000 Yuan he claims was in his possession and then Police possession) then arrested on charges of theft and taken to Tafaigata prison for the first time.  These charges were eventually dismissed in court when his case wrapped on 18^th March 2010.
The day after the dismissal, on 19^th March 2010, Okoro claims he visited the Ministry of Courts office to collect his passport but was advised to go to the Police.  Inquiries with the Police failed to produce his passport, setting off a convoluted series of events that has led Mr Nnamdi to filing a lawsuit against the Government of Samoa. 

A rundown of Mr Nnamdi’s version of events to follow.

He solicited help from: the Police who advised they did not have his passport and the 26,000 Yuan he alleges was taken at the time of his arrest; the Prime Minister – who first asked Police Commissioner Lilomaiava Fou where Okoro’s passport was (and was told that it was missing) and then asked the head of Foreign Affairs Aiono Mose to look in to his situation and consult with overseas missions to find a way to get Okoro another passport; then he went to Parliament and saw then-Deputy Speaker of the House Laauli Leuatea and told him of his predicament.  Laauli then spoke to the Minister of Police Toleafoa Apulu Faafisi on his behalf.  Toleafoa Apulu in turn spoke to the Police Commissioner Lilomaiava about his situation.  Okoro says he was there during this exchange but could not understand what they were saying as they spoke in Samoan to each other.
He then had his first meeting with Aiono Mose who advised that he would contact the Nigerian embassy in Canberra and make arrangements for a new passport – this did not eventuate as the passport printing machine was not in operation.  Okoro claims that the Samoan High Commissioner in Canberra – H.E. Lemalu Tate Simi -  advised Samoa Immigration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue him with a Samoan passport so he can travel to the nearest Nigerian overseas mission (Malaysia) to process a new passport. 

Mr Nnamdi says he was told the passport printing machine was broken, but MFAT offered him a Certificate of Identity (CI) with which to travel.  He says he was not happy about this, and was even told by Lemalu that travelling on a CI was no longer acceptable.
His transit visa to Australia had also been denied due to his name being blacklisted by the Transnational Crime Unit (TCU) based here in Samoa.  Okoro wrote to the TCU to remove his name from the list as he had not been convicted of any crime, but did not receive any response. 

In July 2010, Okoro wrote to the Minister of Police Toleafoa Apulu requesting compensation for expenses incurred throughout the process of trying to locate his missing passport and for the missing 26,000 Yuan.  He says there was no reply.
Okoro then visited the Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who wrote a letter in September 2010 to Toleafoa Apulu advising him to submit a request to Cabinet for Okoro’s compensation. 
His second visit to the Prime Minister was when he was referred to Cabinet Secretary Vaosa Epa who advised him his case would be discussed in Cabinet. 
Okoro claims that Vaosa told him that payment for his travelling expenses had been approved, but she could not disclose how much money he was going to receive.
He says he was arrested in November 2010 and told he was to be deported.  It is unclear whether he spent any time in Tafaigata at this stage. 
He then met with MFAT officials over the next couple of months who attempted to arrange his flights out of Samoa to Australia in order to process a new Nigerian passport in Canberra.  His visa in to Australia was denied.  The option of travelling to Malaysia to process his passport at the Nigerian Embassy there proved impossible as the transit visa for  Papua New Guinea was also denied.

At this stage, Okoro claims Tuilaepa advised MFAT CEO Aiono Mose to pay him USD$1000 and Cabinet had approved for one police officer to travel with him to Fiji en route to PNG and Malaysia. 
Okoro says he was not happy about this, as he was aware that he did not have a transit visa for PNG and would most likely be arrested at the border and detained by PNG Police.

On 14^th January 2011, Okoro was told that the Police were looking for him, so he went to his then-lawyer’s office and explained everything to her.  She, Rosella Papalii, then contacted the Police Commissioner to enquire as to why his officers were searching for Okoro.  According to his testimony, Police officers arrived shortly after Rosella’s phone call to Lilomaiava.  He was arrested and taken to the Central Police Headquarters where he says he was punched and kicked by Superintendent Mata’u.  
He was charged with failing to depart Samoa on the 10^th January 2011 as per deportation order of 2^nd December 2010, and he was considered a prohibited immigrant.  Okoro says he was never notified of the deportation order.

Okoro claims his eye was damaged from the beating he sustained, and he was not given any medical treatment.  He also alleges that Lilomaiava ordered that he was not allowed to receive any visitors or make/receive any phone calls and he was not allowed outside of his cell.

On 20^th January 2011, he was scheduled to leave Samoa on the 12:40am Air Pacific flight to Fiji.  It was on this day that Okoro alleges that the worst police brutality and treatment tantamount to torture took place.  He testified that he was taken to Central Police Headquarters where no less than eight police officers beat him, handcuffed him, bound and gagged him before their departure for Faleolo Airport. 

Upon arrival at Faleolo he was seen, bound and gagged, by Mr Christopher E. Dalton, Manager for Air Pacific Ltd in Samoa, and Mr Dalton made the decision not to allow Okoro on the plane as he deemed him unfit to travel.  Mr Dalton testified that he was approached by MFAT official, Mr Hele Matatia who asked him why he had made the call not to allow Okoro on the flight.  Christopher says he advised Hele that he considered Okoro’s condition to be aggressive, and as such it was for his own safety and the safety of the other passengers that he did not travel. 

Okoro was then taken back to Central Police Headquarters where he claims he was left bound and gagged for over 15 hours before he was transferred back to Tafaigata Prison towards the evening.

Okoro’s current legal counsel, Toleafoa Toailoa Solomona called five witnesses who were either incarcerated with Okoro at Tafaigata or kept in an adjacent holding cell at Central Police Headquarters during the time of the alleged mistreatment by Police.  All five witnesses testified to seeing wounds and injuries on Okoro’s body, but none could corroborate his claim that the injuries were a result of police brutality.

During his time at Tafaigata, Okoro alleges inhumane conditions and mistreatment.  The unhygienic conditions in the prison resulted in a boil developing on his body.  He claims he was not given the proper medication after his visit to the doctor, which meant the boil continued to cause him much discomfort and shame.
“I was treated like an animal..injuries to my dignity as a human being,” he said, rounding up his testimony. 

The Attorney General is answering the charges on behald of the Government of Samoa, through lawyer Muriel Lui. 

When questioned by Ms Lui as to his true intentions, and suggesting that he was merely trying to get a Samoan passport, Mr Nnamdi refuted this and stated that he only wanted his Nigerian passport. 

Ms Lui put to the court that Okoro had been bound and gagged at the airport as he was being violent and had needed to be restrained.  She also suggested that his screaming would have caused a public panic, hence the need to gag him.

The hearing continues all this week, with witnesses for the Government called today.

An outline of Mr Nnamdi’s claims.

Claiming special damages for:                                                                                                (ST)    

• the costs of accommodation and upkeep in the sum of                                  $51,000
• costs of replacement passport (USD$100)                                                          $223
• costs of establishment visa      (USD$700)                                                           $1563
• costs of airfares from Samoa to Malaysia, then from Malaysia to Nigeria                 $16,500
• funds confiscated by the Police (26,000 Chinese Yuan, about USD$4500)            $10,000

General damages for negligence in the sum of $500,000.

General damages for false imprisonment in the sum of $1.5 million

Exemplary damages in the sum of $2.5 million

Aggravated damages in the sum of $2.5 million

General damages for assault and battery and for torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in the sum of $1.5 million

Exemplary and punitive and aggravated damages for assault and battery and for torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in the sum of $3.5 million.

And order for costs including full solicitor’s costs on an indemnity basis.

Private schools around the country have received a cash injection of ST$5 million at one of the most crucial junctures in their annual timetable.

Previously, the financial assistance was divvied out by government at the conclusion of the financial year, but according to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, a request was made by some school principals to release the money earlier in the year to coincide with the start of the first school term.

“Timing was important, as most school Principals advised us that the start of the school year is a time when extra help – especially in the monetary sense – is needed the most, and the early presentation of the grants give school administrators a chance to allocate funds accordingly for their annual budget.”

According to Tuilaepa, international aid has provided much of the funding for these grants, with Cabinet deciding which schools are deserving of the assistance.  The decision is based on a report submitted to Cabinet from the Ministry of Education detailing the performance of each school and outlining achievements and areas that require attention.

The monetary grants were spread amongst private and mission: pre-schools, primary schools, schools for special needs children and secondary schools.  Assistance was also provided for programs in continuing education, vocational schooling and for the Samoa National Orchestra.

The complete list, as provided from Cabinet, has been printed below.