A Toronto man, who was held in immigration detention for five-and-a-half years, has launched a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Ottawa.

Abdirahmaan Warssama, 54, was detained at two maximum security detention facilities, first in Toronto and later in Lindsay, Ont., from May 2010 to December 2015 while waiting for his deportation to Somalia.

Over 2,042 days behind bars, he underwent more than 70 detention reviews but each time an independent panel sent him back to jail, convinced he was likely to flee and fail to appear for his removal — until a Federal Court judge overturned his continued detention and ordered Ottawa to explore the possibility of returning Warssama to Somalia and consider alternatives to detention.

“The sole purpose of his detention was to facilitate his removal from Canada to Somalia. Yet for the totality of his detention, removal to Somalia was never attempted,” said Warssama’s statement of claim against the federal government filed with the court Thursday. He is seeking $55 million in damages.

“Despite the fact (that) he suffered from mental health issues, his detention was solely administrative not punitive, and he was not considered a danger to the public, yet at all material times, Warssama was detained in a maximum-security prison.”

The claims have not been proven in court. The Attorney General of Canada, the defendant, has declined to comment because of the ongoing court process. No statement of defence has yet been filed.

While incarcerated, Warssama alleged in the lawsuit, he was subjected to “humiliating and degrading experiences,” including being strip-searched, physically assaulted, robbed, denied warm clothing and health care, forced to endure freezing temperatures, unsanitary living conditions and lengthy and numerous lockdowns.

Warssama came to Canada for asylum in 1989 but the claim was denied in the same year. He was allowed to stay in Canada on humanitarian grounds — partially due to his diagnosis with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, he kept moving around and never obtained his permanent residence status.

In 2005 and 2006, he was arrested and charged with assault, failing to appear and uttering threats, for which he received a suspended sentence and 18 months’ probation, as well as a day in jail and 87 days pre-sentence custody. Since he’s neither a permanent resident nor citizen, his criminality made him inadmissible to Canada.

Warssama’s lawyer, Subodh Bharati, said the Canada Border Services Agency had a policy of not forcibly removing people to Somalia and would only deport someone to African country if the person was willing to sign a “voluntary statutory declaration” indicating one’s genuine desire to return.

“He is not the same person he used to. He is angry and upset . . . He still can’t sleep properly. When he is outside, he feels people are following him,” Bharati said in an interview.

In his statement of claim, Warssama said his “unlawful” detention was the result of malicious prosecution by the border agency and negligence by the detention review tribunal that was under the Immigration and Refugee Board.

“The Immigration and Refugee Board ignored evidence and used detention as a means to punish the plaintiff for not signing what it knew or ought to have known was a false statutory declaration,” according to the lawsuit.

“The infringement of (Warssama’s) liberty became arbitrary and contrary to the principle of fundamental justice that prohibits limitations that are not related to the legislation’s purpose.”

Due to repeated jail lockdowns, Warssama claimed in his lawsuit, he was unable to contact his family and lawyer or receive visitors. On two occasions — on May 20, 2014 and August 10, 2014 — he was assaulted by other inmates causing him injury and the loss of two teeth, the lawsuit claimed.

Warssama, who now lives with his sister, said he still suffers from physical and psychological problems: headaches, nightmares, dizziness, shock, anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, chronic pain, insomnia and weakness.

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“I still have bad dreams from the detention. It’s hard to start your life again. You just can’t get your life back,” he told the Star in an interview. Warssama is still without status pending removal and must report to the border agency every three weeks.

He has applied for permanent resident status based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, as well as an assessment of the risk he could face if removed to Somalia. Both decisions are pending.