The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, has fixed 27 November 2025 for judgment in the fundamental rights enforcement action filed by Tigran Gambaryan, former Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Binance, against the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Mohammed Umar reserved judgment after counsel for both parties formally adopted their written addresses.
Gambaryan, through his counsel Tonye Krukrubo, SAN, and Sunday Agaji, is seeking compensation and an order of apology from the respondents for what he terms his “prolonged and unlawful detention.” The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/356/2024, was initially filed in June 2024 and later amended.
The applicant contends that:
– He was invited to Nigeria on 26 February 2024 by officials of the NSA and EFCC for a meeting in his capacity as a Binance representative.
– Despite not being a director or board member of Binance, he was detained immediately after honouring the invitation.
– His detention from 26–27 February 2024 (before a remand order) and from 12 March–8 April 2024 (after the remand order had lapsed) violated his constitutional right to liberty and caused severe hardship to him and his family.
The EFCC, represented by Olanrewaju Adeola, opposed the application. In its motion of 2 July 2024, the Commission drew the court’s attention to the pending criminal proceedings in FRN v. Binance Holdings Ltd & Anor (FHC/ABJ/CR/138/2024) before Justice Emeka Nwite, involving allegations of money laundering and foreign exchange contraventions. The EFCC argued that the facts in that case are material to the determination of Gambaryan’s application.
In February 2024, the Federal Government accused Binance of manipulating Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.
On 28 February 2024, two Binance executives — Nadeem Anjarwalla (Regional Manager for Africa) and Tigran Gambaryan — were detained by Nigerian authorities.
Both men filed fundamental rights suits. Anjarwalla’s case was struck out for want of diligent prosecution, and he later escaped custody.
Gambaryan remained in detention pursuant to a court order, while the EFCC and FIRS also filed criminal charges against Binance and its executives.
The charges were later amended, leaving Binance as the sole defendant. Gambaryan was eventually released on health grounds.
With the adoption of processes concluded on 15 October 2025, the court has adjourned to 27 November 2025 for judgment and/or ruling on the substantive application and the respondents’ counter‑applications.
