Izeh v. The Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States of America

Background

Dr. Matthew Izeh filed the action without a lawyer. On July 16, 2025, the court dismissed the action as barred by diplomatic immunity and as frivolous. The court also noted that Izeh had filed a dozen other cases that had been dismissed as frivolous, lacking merit, duplicative, or for failure to comply with court orders.

The court ordered Izeh to submit a declaration within 30 days explaining why he should not be barred from filing future civil actions without paying filing fees unless he first obtained the court’s permission. Izeh did not submit the required declaration. The opinion states that the first mailing of the order to show cause was returned to the court, but that the court confirmed Izeh’s address and resent the order; the second mailing was not returned.

Rulings

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, the court barred Izeh from filing future civil actions without paying filing fees in the Southern District of New York unless he first obtains permission. Any motion seeking permission must include a copy of the proposed complaint and a copy of the bar order, and it must be filed with the court’s Pro Se Intake Unit. The court stated that it will dismiss any action Izeh files without first submitting the required motion for permission.

The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the bar order would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied fee-free status for an appeal. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment dismissing this action. Judge Kimba M. Wood signed the order.