Nigerian Human Rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has petitioned the Acting Director General of the Department of State Services (SSS), Mr. Mathew Seiyefa, seeking an urgent release of persons detained illegally by the security outfit. In a letter dated August 10, 2018, and titled: “Request for the urgent release of hundreds of persons detained illegally by the State Security Service,” the silk lamented that the tenure of Seiyefa’s predecessor, Lawal Daura, was characterized by incessant arrest and detention of Nigerians and foreigners without trial.
He alleged that aside persistently flouting Section 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) by failing to secure remand order from the court, Daura also treated several court orders for detainees’ release with contempt. He drew the Acting SSS DG’s attention to the plight of a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki and that of the leader of the Shiite movement, Sheik Ibraheem El- Zakzaky and his wife, Hajia Zeinab, who are still in DSS’ custody despite court orders freeing them.
“Mr. Daura has wilfully ignored the order of the Federal High Court made in December 2016 for the release of Sheik Ibraheem and Hajia Zeinab El-Zakzaky from the illegal custody of DSS. “Even though Sheik El- Zakzaky lost his right eye as a result of the injury sustained when he was shot by soldiers in Zaria on December 15, 2015, Mr. Daura rejected the recommendation of eye specialists that the detainee be flown abroad for medical treatment to prevent the loss of his left eye in the custody of DSS. “Mrs. El-Zakzaky who was also shot during the violent military attack has been denied access to medical experts who have offered to extract some bullets from her body.
Thus, the DSS has subjected the couple to excruciating physical pain and mental agony in violation of their fundamental right to freedom from degrading treatment guaranteed by Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic, 1999 as amended,” Falana said. On Dasuki, he said: “As you are, no doubt, aware, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), a former National Security Adviser, is standing trial for treasonable felony and corruption before the Federal High Court and the Federal Capital Territory High Court respectively. Although the defendant has been admitted to bail by both trial courts, the DSS has continued to detain him without any legal justification. “As if that is not enough, the order of the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States directing the Federal Government to release Col. Dasuki on bail pending trial has also been treated with disdain by DSS. “Even though the defendant has not been charged with culpable homicide, the defenders of Mr. Daura’s disobedience of court orders have belatedly turned round to accuse the defendant of being responsible for the death of over 100,000 people,” Falana added that inquiries have also revealed that hundreds of other criminal suspects are being detained in dehumanizing conditions in the several detention facilities of DSS in Abuja and in all the states of the federation.
“Indeed, a number of the suspects in the custody of DSS have been held incommunicado for about three years in contravention of Section 6 (2) (c) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which has imposed a duty on all detaining authorities in Nigeria to notify the next of kin or relative of every suspect of the arrest at no cost to the suspect. “Two of the victims of such prolonged incarceration are Mr. Jones Abiri, a journalist and Mr. Peter Collins Opume, an undergraduate of the Niger Delta University, Yenogoa, Bayelsa State. Both citizens have been detained in DSS dungeon at Abuja for over two years without trial,” he said. With NewTelegraph
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