DSS bows to pressure, produces eight aides of Igboho in court
By Tobi Adetunji
The Department of State Services (DSS), on Monday, brought 8 out of the 12 detained aides of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho to the Federal High Court Abuja before Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
Officials of the DSS also engaged journalists as they tried to stop them from entering the courtroom.
Nigerian NewsDirect had earlier reported that Justice Egwuatu ordered the DSS to produce the 12 detained aides of Igboho in court in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/647/2021 to enable the court to inquire into the circumstances surrounding their arrest and detention.
Justice Egwuatu had also ordered the DSS to show cause why the Igboho’s aides should not be admitted to bail.
When the matter came up on the last adjourned date before the judge, the DSS’ lawyer had stated that some of the names on the court order were different from the names of the persons they had arrested on July 1, 2021 at Igboho’s house.
Awo had also told the court that apart from the second, fourth and twelfth applicants, the identities of the rest of the applicants on the court’s order do not have the persons bearing those names.
Awo asserted that the first applicant on the order had been released on July 27.
He had also stated that the persons that were arrested during the raid on Igboho’s house would be released or charged to court upon the conclusion of their investigation.
The counsel for the applicants, Pelumi Olajengbesi, had described the failure of the DSS to produce the applicants in court as “an apparent affront on the authority of the court, which was not justifiable.”
Justice Egwuatu had berated the DSS for failing to produce the applicants according to the order of the court.
The detained aides of Sunday Igboho had instituted a suit against the DSS and its Director-General, Yusuf Bichi, following their arrest and detention on July 1, after the DSS raid of Igboho’s residence in the Soka area of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The applicants are Abdulateef Ofeyagbe, Amoda Babatunde, Tajudeen Erinoyen, Diakola Ademola, Abideen Shittu, Jamiu Noah, and Ayobami Donald.
Others are Adelabe Usman, Oluwapelimi Kunle, Raji Kazeem, Taiwo Opeyemi and Bamidele Sunday.
