Tigran Gambaryan, a detained executive of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has formally petitioned the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pay compensation for his prolonged detention. This legal move was presented by his lawyer, Tonye Krukrubo (SAN), during a recent court proceeding involving a fundamental rights suit initially filed on behalf of his escaped colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla. The petition represents an amendment to an earlier motion seeking to enforce Gambaryan’s fundamental human rights, originally filed in May 2024.

Gambaryan argues that his detention constitutes a violation of his constitutional rights and amounts to an attempt to coerce Binance, while also causing significant emotional and psychological distress to his family. In his application, Krukrubo informed the court that Gambaryan had traveled to Nigeria in February solely to attend a meeting with government officials as a representative of Binance, at the invitation of both the NSA and the EFCC. However, upon his arrival, he was detained and has remained in custody since then, despite not being a board member of the cryptocurrency exchange.

The lawyer urged the court to declare Gambaryan’s detention and the seizure of his international passport as infringements of his right to personal liberty, as guaranteed under Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He further sought a perpetual injunction to restrain Nigerian security agencies from detaining him in connection with ongoing investigations into Binance’s operations.

During the court session, EFCC counsel Olanrewaju Adeola opposed the amendment and requested the court to dismiss it with substantial costs. However, the presiding judge overruled the objection, instructing Gambaryan’s lawyer to serve the amended motion on the respondents within two days. The court also ordered Gambaryan to pay the respondents ₦50,000 to cover the cost of processes filed in the initial suit. The case has been adjourned until June 19 for further hearing.

Meanwhile, Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki Gambaryan, has publicly urged the U.S. government to intervene more decisively in her husband’s continued detention and prosecution. Expressing frustration, she said: “Tigran’s and my tax dollars get sent to Nigeria in aid every year. Nigeria is supposed to be an ally. I refuse to believe that our State Department cannot do more to have an innocent American citizen released.”

She appealed to Nigerian authorities to free her husband, especially after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) dropped tax evasion charges against him, agreeing that those charges should apply solely to Binance as a corporate entity. She questioned why the EFCC could not take a similar course of action.

In a related development, a separate fundamental rights suit filed by Nadeem Anjarwalla, another Binance executive who escaped from custody in March, was struck out by the Federal High Court. Justice Inyang Ekwo presided over the case and delivered judgment after Anjarwalla’s legal representatives failed to appear at the scheduled hearing. The judge subsequently struck out the case for “want of diligent prosecution.”

Anjarwalla’s suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, was filed alongside Gambaryan’s (FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24). Both executives alleged that their detention and the seizure of their passports violated Sections 35(1) and 35(4) of the Nigerian Constitution, and that the actions had inflicted immense hardship and emotional distress on them and their families.

The Federal High Court has now fixed July 9 for the continuation of hearings on Gambaryan’s amended suit.