Ekiti lawmakers threaten to sue DSS over illegal detention of member
(Nigeria) Members of Ekiti State House of Assembly have
demanded an unreserved apology from the Department of State Services, DSS, over
the March 4, 2016 invasion of the House of Assembly and unlawful detention of a
member of the House, representing Efon Constituency, Mr Afolabi Akanni for 18 days, threatening to
seek redress and damages in court.
The lawmakers, who described the act of impunity by the DSS
under President Mohammadu Buhari as undemocratic, unpatriotic, dictatorial and
brutish, also demanded a thorough medical examination of Akanni, saying; “we
fear that his health and general well-being could have been compromised while
in the DSS custody.”
Addressing the newsmen, Chairman of the House Committee on Information,
Gboyega Aribisogan, who was flanked by the Speaker, Kola Oluwawole, Deputy Speaker; Segun Adewumi
and 16 others, said the DSS must explain to Nigerians whether in a democracy, it
was part of the its mandate to disobey court orders and dump Nigerians in
detention for 18 days on unfounded allegations.
The statement read in full; “Yesterday, we read online like
other Nigerians that our member, representing Efon Constituency, Akanni who has
been in the DSS detention in Abuja since March 4 was on admission at a private hospital
in Abuja.
“Up till this moment, we have not been told officially by
the DSS whether or not Hon Akanni was formally released from incarceration after
spending 18 days without access to his doctors, lawyers and family members.
“However, preliminary information available to us suggests
that Akanni may have been brought to the hospital by men of the DSS and abandoned
there because they could no longer hold him in captivity because of his
deteriorating health condition.
“Nigerians should be reminded that it took the rumour of Akanni’s
death for the DSS to admit officially that it was holding him after spending 15
days in detention without access to anyone.
“As we speak, Hon Akanni is in very critical condition and
he has not been able to speak with anyone of us.
“As reported in the media, Hon Akanni could only say that he
was sick, he was not well when press men sought to speak with him yesterday. We
therefore, demand an official explanation from the DSS as to why Akanni was abducted and held incommunicado for
18 days, only for us to be told that he was admitted at a private hospital in
Abuja.
“We also demand a thorough medical examination of Akanni as
we fear that his health and general well-being could have been compromised
while in the DSS custody. Furthermore, we demand an explanation from the DSS
whether in a democracy, it is part of the its mandate to disobey court orders
and dump Nigerians in detention for 18 DAYS on unfounded allegations.
“Most importantly, we condemn strongly the DSS illegal
arrest, detention and dehumanisation of Hon Akanni and we demand an unreserved apology
forthwith.
“We have also directed our counsel to seek redress and
damages in court because to us, this act of impunity by the DSS under Buhari is
undemocratic, unpatriotic, dictatorial and brutish. Detaining Nigerians for
weeks without trial is a clear return of Decree 2, with which President Buhari
hounded Nigerians in detention when he was a military dictator and we in the
Ekiti State House of Assembly will continue to support our leader and Governor,
Peter Ayodele Fayose in his fight against tyranny.
“We wish to also alert the public that men of the DSS have
been visiting schools attended by some of our members, in search of their academic
records.
“Though we are not afraid of anyone or agency of government investigating
the academic background of our members, it is important that the DSS face its
core mandate of gathering intelligence for the security of Nigeria and its
people.
“We wish to advise the DSS to pay more attention to the
growing insecurity in the country, instead of acting as an arm of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, to pursue the evil agenda of destabilising the Fayose-led
government.
“Lastly, we wish to reiterate our commitment to the
development of Ekiti State, which is being championed committedly by Governor Fayose
and we state that no amount of intimidation and harassment will make us join
the enemies of Ekiti, whose only interest is to grab power for their personal
gains.”
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