SHAH ALAM May 6 FMT news : The High Court here has allowed an application for judicial review of the deportation order against Nigerian Simon Adavize Momoh.
Momoh’s lawyer, V Vemal Arasan, said the merits of the case could be heard sooner than expected as the attorney-general had not opposed the leave application.
“We will file the cause papers within 14 days and serve it on the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC),” he told FMT after proceedings before Judge Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh today.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and federal counsel Liyana Muhammad Fuad appeared for the AGC.
Vemal, who is assisted by James Joshua Paulraj, said the government lawyers also presented a special pass from the immigration department to allow Momoh to remain in the country pending the disposal of his case.
Last month, Momoh filed the leave application for judicial review against the government for revoking his pass and ordering his deportation.
The immigration director-general and the home minister were named as respondents.
Momoh was released on April 23 after being detained for 40 days at the Semenyih immigration depot. He was initially arrested for drink-driving in March at a roadblock in Cheras.
After he was fined and jailed for a day by the court, the department cancelled his special pass and ordered his deportation.
His release followed a habeas corpus hearing, with Judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman ruling that Momoh’s 40-day detention was unconstitutional and had breached procedure.
Momoh’s deportation order was emailed to his wife, Low Kar Hui, on April 14. The department had asked Low to make arrangements for his flight back to Nigeria.
According to the order, Momoh was deemed a prohibited immigrant.
