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Tag: Department of State Services

  • Update: Pastor arrested in Ondo State over missing child sues DSS, demands N100m compensation

    Update: Pastor arrested in Ondo State over missing child sues DSS, demands N100m compensation

    Pastor Alfa Babatunde who is the founder of Sotitobire Miracle Centre situated in Akure, Ondo state has charged the Department of State Services to court over his arrest and continued detention by the DSS.

    This was done barely 24 hours after angry youths set ablaze his church over claims that the corpse of a one-year-old boy identified as Eniola Kolawole who went missing on November 10 during a church service was found buried in the altar of the church.

    In a suit filed by the counsel to the founder of Sotitobire Miracle Centre, Akinyemi Omoware before a Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the counsel stated that the continuous detention of his client by the DSS without being charged to court was an abuse and violation of his fundamental human rights.

    He noted that he had been arrested for over eight days and had remained in leg chains in DSS custody without food. Joined in the suit filed are the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, Emmanuel Anaobi, Isaac Babalola and Remi Oluwalogbon.

    The applicant prayed the court to restrain the five respondents and their agents, servants, subordinates or any person(s) taking instructions from them from engaging in any further act of arrest, detention and violation of his right to liberty and or dignity of human person.

    Pastor Babatunde is also asking for N100m for the violation of his fundamental human rights. No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

  • VIDEO: Angry youths set Sotitobire Church ablaze as Ondo missing child is allegedly buried in altar

    VIDEO: Angry youths set Sotitobire Church ablaze as Ondo missing child is allegedly buried in altar

    Tension in Ondo community as irate youths set ablaze Sotitobire Miracle Centre over the mysterious missing of one-year-old boy.

    WITHIN NIGERIA could not ascertain as at the time of reportage if the dead body of the missing boy identified as Gold Kolawole was seen at the church yet there are flying rumours that the dead body was found there.

    Recall that the whole issue started one month ago during a church service when the one-year-old baby was declared missing after he was dropped at the children section of the church by his mother.

    It was further learnt that the founder of the church, Prophet Alfa Babatunde reportedly spent some days in the custody of the DSS after he was arrested by its operatives.

    He was arrested based on a petition written by the parents of the missing child.

    WATCH THE VIDEO:

  • I can’t tell DSS to release Sowore – Attorney General, Abubakar Malami

    I can’t tell DSS to release Sowore – Attorney General, Abubakar Malami

    Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has disclosed on Monday, December 16th that he could not take unilateral decision and request that Omoyele Sowore be released by the Department of State Service from custody.

    This was disclosed in a statement released by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu who stated that Malami was reacting to “the claim that a lawyer sent a letter to the AGF requesting the release of Mr. Sowore”.

    According to the statement, the Minister of Justice said that he could not take a unilateral decision on the release of Sowore without recourse to the court, where the ‘RevolutionNow’ protests convener and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, are being prosecuted on charges of treasonable felony, among others.

    The statement appeared to be a veiled reference to the letter by Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), sent to the AGF on Friday to demand the release of the convener of ‘RevolutionNow’ protests from the custody of the DSS.

    The AGF’s takeover of the case was informed by the widely condemned invasion of the Federal High Court in Abuja by the operatives of the DSS to rearrest Sowore on December 6. Falana who heads the defence team of the two men informed Malami that Sowore had, since his rearrest on December 6, been kept in the DSS custody without the backing of any detention order of court or arrest warrant.

    He stated that his letter became necessary after two lawyers in the team visited the DSS headquarters in Abuja to demand Sowore’s release but were advised to direct their request to Malami.

    In a statement making a veiled reference to Falana’s letter on Monday, Malami said in the statement issued by Gwandu, “When parties submit their issues for determination to a court of law, they lack exclusivity of decision over such issues without recourse to the court. We remain guided by the established tradition and will not take unilateral decision without recourse to the rule of law”.

  • Supreme Court Justice Okoro cleared of misconduct by DSS, $38,000 and other items returned to him

    Supreme Court Justice Okoro cleared of misconduct by DSS, $38,000 and other items returned to him

    The Department of State Services has cleared Supreme Court Justice John Inyang Okoro who was arrested together with other judges in a sting operation carried out by the DSS Operatives in 2016 of wrongdoings and a sum of $38,000 (about N13.68m) and other items carted away from his house have been returned.

    Three years after probe, the secret police has cleared an alleged misconduct linked to Justice Okoro who was neither charged or arraigned for corrupt practices.

    WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the items taken away from his house were reportedly returned on November 8.

    In a letter dated October 17, 2016 written by the Supreme Court Justice which was addressed to the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice John Inyang listed some items taken from his home as;

    “One iPad, three telephone handsets (only one is active), $38,800  N3.5 million, and four cheque books. The foreign currency was the “leftover from the sum of $24,000 and £10,000 a year he has received each of the previous three years as annual medical/vacation allowances. He explained that he had not spent more than £5,000 on each of three trips he made.

    “I was entitled to have more than the amount recovered from me. Put differently, My Lord, the money was the balance of my estacode received from this court for the past three years. This is quite outside the estacodes I have received for the International Conferences I have so far attended since joining the bench of this court” he added.

    According to The Nation, a source revealed that “The DSS has returned over $30,000 and other items recovered from Justice Inyang Okoro to him, the investigation has been concluded.

    “The step taken by the security agency was a vindication of Justice Okoro, who many regarded in the Judiciary as incorruptible. It also demonstrated the fairness of the DSS in upholding the truth.

    “Going by what the Justices went through, the clearance of Justice Okoro by the DSS is being celebrated at the bar and the bench.”

    It was further learnt that some respected lawyers which includes SANs, have been pushing for a public declaration of Justice Okoro’s clearance by the DSS.

    A source said; “The eminent lawyers believe since the public heard about Justice Okoro’s investigation, they ought to know the outcome.

    “They are disturbed about the negative media propaganda which his arrest and investigation generated which affected his reputation.”

  • Femi Adesina maintains silence on Aisha Buhari’s outburst, says Nigeria is not answerable to US, UK, EU on alleged court invasion

    Femi Adesina maintains silence on Aisha Buhari’s outburst, says Nigeria is not answerable to US, UK, EU on alleged court invasion

    The Special Adviser on Media Affairs and Publicity to President Buhari, Femi Adesina has stated that Nigeria is a sovereign nation therefore not answerable to the US, UK or EU regarding cases of human rights abuses.

    This statement was uttered by Femi Adesina when he appeared on Channels TV on Wednesday night, December 11th as a guest.

    The statement he made was in reference to comments from the EU, UK and the US on the invasion of the Federal High Court Abuja by men of the Department of State Services to re-arrest the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore.

    Adesina said: “We are not answerable to the US, the UK or the EU. We are Nigeria, a sovereign country. Those countries and entities have issues of their own. Let them deal with their issues. Let Nigeria also deal with her internal issues. We are not answerable to them.”

    He went on to speak about Wole Soyinka’s criticisms against the regime of the President, stating that the Nobel laureate was free to express his opinion.

    “We respect Prof. Soyinka. You don’t have too many of them in the country or even on the continent. He is an avatar and he is well respected but his opinion will remain his opinion. It will be considered and if there are things to act on, we will act on them,” he said.

    When asked to comment on the recent attack on his senior colleague, Garba Shehu by the first lady, Aisha Buhari, Adesina said he will not be able to comment as he is not the person that was attacked by the first lady. He went on to add that the President’s family is off limits except the President directs him speak on the issue.

  • Sowore’s re-arrest: We will probe alleged invasion of court by DSS officials – AGF Abubakar Malami

    Sowore’s re-arrest: We will probe alleged invasion of court by DSS officials – AGF Abubakar Malami

    Days after the alleged invasion of the Federal High Court, Abuja premises by DSS officials to effect the re-arrest of publisher and convener of Revolution Now protest, Omoyele Sowore, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has disclosed that the Federal government has set up a committee to investigate the alleged invasion

    This disclosure was made by the Attorney-General of the Federation while addressing newsmen after he paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho.

    Malami debunked claims that he visited Justice Tsoho to discuss the rearrest of Sowore while attending to questions from newsmen.

    “The truth is that I am not here about Sowore’s case. I am here to visit his lordship to congratulate him on his appointment. But one thing about the judicial process is that it is not the only case in which the Federal Government is involved as you rightly know. We have multiple cases that are more serious than that of Sowore pending before the court generally. So the case of Sowore is certainly not an exception. So I cannot be here for an exclusive case when we have multiple thousands cases against the interest of the government pending within the judicial circle not exclusively restricted to the Federal High Court.

    We are committed to the sanctity of the judiciary and the judicial system. As a government, we have established a tradition of respect for rule of law. We have established a tradition of interest in the independence of the judiciary. You can rightly remember that as a government we assented to an amendment that gave effect to the independence to the judiciary at the state level, among others.

    And Mr. President has put in place a committee that will see to the execution of the amendment to the Constitution that has been passed as it relates to the independence of the judiciary. So, I think we have an established of respect for the sanctity of the court, the sanctity of the courtroom and court premises, respect and interest for the independence of the judiciary. So our credentials relating to legislative processes, our credentials relating to upholding the independence of the judiciary are speaking for us as a government”.

    When asked if he was appalled by the conduct of the DSS furing Sowore’s rearrest, Malami said

    “Whatever affects the integrity of the court is a worrisome issue for us. I can never be preemptive of an incident over which I was not a live witness to. But one thing I am certain of is that the government has put in place mechanism for investigation of the reported incident. So I would not like to be preemptive in terms of a conclusion, one way or the other, without allowing the consummation and conclusion of the investigation process”.

  • Sowore must not die after humiliation, family members cry out

    Sowore must not die after humiliation, family members cry out

    Days after DSS operatives allegedly stormed court to re-arrest Omoyele Sowore, members of the family of the embattled publisher of Sahara Reporters have expressed their deep concerns over the state of health of their son.

    In a statement jointly signed by Deacon S.M Omoyeni, Olusegun Sowore and Robert Sowore, the family alleged that Omoyele Sowore was allegedly ‘ injected’ with an unknown substance and beaten by one of the prosecuting counsel.

    According to the family, the development occurred in the presence of the Department of State Security Service(DSS) inside the Federal High Courtroom, where he had been summoned for hearing of a suit.

    ” We are seriously worried when this assault happened openly inside the courtroom, a court which is the last hope of the masses, Sowore’s family said.

    “Who knows what they might have done to him now that has been in their custody for months. Everybody can see now that President Muhammadu Buhari and the DSS wanted to kill our son”.

    The aggrieved Sowore’s family appealed to all well-meaning Nigerians, Nigeria Bar Association(NBA),National Assembly and International Communities to rescue safeguard their son.

  • DSS reacts to alleged re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore in court, says it was an orchestrated drama

    DSS reacts to alleged re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore in court, says it was an orchestrated drama

    Hours after video of alleged re-arrest of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore by the DSS Operatives, the Department of State Services has disclosed that they did not arrest Omoyele Sowore, convener of the #RevolutionNow movement in court.

    The state secret police said that the video of the alleged re-arrest was just an orchestrated drama acted by supporters of the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement.

    In a statement signed and made available to press by the Public Relations Officer of the DSS, Peter Afunanya further revealed that there were none of its officers involved in the incidents recorded in the courtroom.

    “It has become important that the Department of State Services responds to the serial misinformation being circulated in the media about its involvement in the incident that occurred on 6th December, 2019 at the Federal High Court, Abuja,” the statement read.

    “It is instructive to note that during the court proceeding of the day under reference, Defence Counsel, Femi FALANA (SAN), called the attention of the Judge to a suspicion that the Service was planning to re-arrest Omoyele SOWORE immediately after the court session. The Court discountenanced his alarm and asserted that the Service was law abiding and would not engage in such and subsequently adjourned to February, 2020.

    “However, when SOWORE stepped out of the court and sighted operatives of the Service within the premises, he ran back into the courtroom. In a bid to shield him from an imaginary arrest, his uncontrollable supporters mobbed him while chanting ‘you can’t arrest him’ thus the pandemonium that ensued.

    “A critical look at the videos in circulation would convince any objective viewer that there was no DSS personnel during the entire period the Sowore crowd acted out its orchestrated drama. Its personnel were never, at any time, involved in the incident.”

    Details later

  • After much pressure from Nigerians, Reno Omokri reacts to alleged re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore

    After much pressure from Nigerians, Reno Omokri reacts to alleged re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore

    Hours after DSS operatives re-arrest convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, the former media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri has responded to Nigerians asking for his opinion on the alleged arrest.

    WITHIN NIGERIA had earlier reported that Omoyele Sowore and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare have been reportedly re-arrested in court by the Department of State Services on Friday.

    Many Nigerians have reacted to the alleged arrest in a Gestapo way while the renowned crusader of Buhari Tormentor, Reno Omokri kept quiet which is unusual but was later forced to react to the incident by some Nigerians who sought his opinion.

    He responded: “All these people asking me to talk, what do you expect me to say? You willingly used your own hand to make a snake your king and you are surprised when it is biting everybody? What else do you expect from a snake, than to bite? Enjoy your snake! You are disturbing me to talk.

    “When I was talking, the snake charmers were making fun of me. Now one by one, the snake they brought is biting them and poisoning each and every one of them. Now, they are using the same mouth they once used to insult me to ask me to speak. May God give us wisdom is the only thing I will speak now.

    Barely minutes after, he uploaded a picture he took with former President Goodluck Jonathan and captioned it below:

    “I am the most abused and insulted president in the world, but when I leave office, you will all remember me for the total freedom you enjoyed under my government.” Goodluck Jonathan, 2014.

    The man that saw tomorrow!

  • Hours after Sowore’s alleged re-arrest, Nigerians storm Twitter to react

    Hours after Sowore’s alleged re-arrest, Nigerians storm Twitter to react

    Hours after the alleged re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore in a Gestapo way inside the Federal High Court, Abuja by DSS officials, Nigerians have stormed Twitter to react on the alleged re-arrest of Publisher and Convener of the #RevolutionNow.

    Many Nigerians have argued that the country is gradually sliding into a dictatorial government while some Nigerians are in support of the treatment being melted on Sowore.

    See Photos of Nigerians’ reactions: