Enahoro v. Abubakar

408 F.3d 877 (2005)

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Enahoro v. Abubakar

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
408 F.3d 877 (2005)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

Anthony Enahoro (plaintiff), a Nigerian national, along with six other Nigerians, sued General Abdulsalami Abubakar (defendant) in federal district court for torture and extrajudicial killings committed by Nigeria’s military junta. Nigeria was ruled by a military junta from 1983 until 1999. Abubakar was a high-ranking member of the military junta and led the junta during its final year. Abubakar moved to dismiss Enahoro’s action, arguing that Enahoro had failed to comply with the exhaustion requirement of the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), under which Enahoro was required to exhaust all possible remedies in Nigeria before a United States federal court could have jurisdiction to hear Enahoro’s action. The district court denied Abubakar’s motion, holding that (1) Enahoro was not bound by TVPA’s exhaustion requirement because Enahoro had not raised his claim under TVPA, and (2) the district court had jurisdiction over Enahoro’s claim under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The ATS gave federal courts jurisdiction over tort lawsuits brought by foreign nationals alleging violations of international law. Effectively, the district court held that Enahoro could raise his claim against Abubakar under either TVPA or ATS. Abubakar appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Evans, J.)

Dissent (Cudahy, J.)

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