A Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, issued a fresh order to the Director-General of the Department of the State Services (DSS) to produce before it 12 aides of the Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Igboho, being detained since July 2, 2021.
The fresh order followed the refusal of the security agency to make them available for bail consideration as ordered on July 23, 2021.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued the fresh order following an appeal by the DSS counsel, Mr. Idowu Awo, that the agency is given another time to comply with the order.
When the matter came up, DSS counsel informed the court that the detained applicants could not be produced in court because of the nature of their arrest and detention.
He argued that he had filed a counter-affidavit to explain the dimensions and sophistication of the investigation being carried out on the detainees.
He further submitted that the DSS obtained an order of the court permitting the detention of the applicants to interrogate them.
Besides, the counsel submitted that some names on the Federal High Court order were at variance with those being detained, adding that only four out of 12 names correspond with that of DSS.
However, Justice Egwuatu was not persuaded by the arguments, saying that the order of the court was in English language and unambiguous that the detainees be produced in court.
The judge held that the order ought to be obeyed to the letter after which the DSS can subsequently offer explanations for their detention.
The DSS counsel later apologized to the court and sought an adjournment to enable them to comply with the court order.
Justice Egwuatu subsequently fixed Monday, August 2, 2021 for DSS to produce the detainees in court.
The judge ordered the DSS to allow counsel to the detainees, Mr. Pelumi Olajemgbesi, access to them before the adjourned date.
Olajemgbesi had earlier pleaded with the court to sanction the DSS for an act of disrespect to a lawful court order for the production of the detainees.
He faulted the order paper relied on by the DSS for the 14 days detention of the applicants, adding that the order was not certified as required by law for public documents.
He argued that it was wrong for the DSS to have detained the applicants for 25 days without charging them to a court or grant them administrative bail despite the fact that the supreme law presumes them innocent.
Olajemgbesi told the court that one Sunday Adeyemo was the target of the DSS during the raid on July 2, adding that the arrest of the applicants on the day was just an unfortunate event.
