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  • Court bars Police, EFCC, DSS, from searching Wike’s houses

    The Federal High Court Abuja has barred the Nigerian Police, the EFCC and the Department of State Security Service, (DSS) from searching houses belonging to Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers.

    Wike had in 2017, approached the court seeking an order of injunction restraining the IGP, the Police, the EFCC and the DSS from obtaining a search warrant to search any of his houses.

    Delivering judgement on the matter on Wednesday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed noted that the defendants were in agreement that the plaintiff, Wike, could not be investigated based on the provision of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

    Justice Mohammed said that from the combined reading of Section 308 of the constitution, and sections 149 and 150 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act, (ACJA) 2015, three situations had been prohibited.

    The first, he said, was the provision that no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted against the plaintiff.

    He further said that a person covered by the provisions shall not be arrested, and thirdly, any process of court requiring appearance of a person protected under the provisions shall not be applied.

    Justice Mohammed maintained that parties in their submissions, lost the purport and intendment of section 308(1)(c) of the constitution.

    According to him, a careful reading of section 308(1)(c) shows that the constitution has prohibited court process requiring the appearance of a serving governor before any investigative panel.

    He held that the argument of the police and the EFCC that Wike’s residence could be searched without his presence was untenable.

    The judge said it was wrong for the defendants to import meaning or interpretation not included in Section 308 of the constitution by the person who drafted the constitution.

    He held that the essence of the section was to accord immunity to a serving governor so as not to cause distractions to the governor in the act of governance.

    The judge dismissed the objections of the defendants and held that Wike’s suit had succeeded because it had merit.

    Wike had asked for six reliefs but the judge granted three and said while one was not grantable, the others were embedded in the ones granted.

    “The defendants cannot whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers, privies or in any manner howsoever apply for, obtain, issue or in any way or manner howsoever execute any court process requiring; the appearance of the plaintiff who is currently the governor of Rivers.

    “A declaration that by virtue of the combined effect of section 308 of the Constitution and sections 149 and 150 of ACJA, the defendants cannot in any manner apply for, obtain, issue or execute any search warrant at the residence of the plaintiff in Abuja or in any of the plaintiff’s residence in any other place or locations in Nigeria.

    “An order that the defendants cannot by the combined effect of section 308 of the Constitution and sections 149 and 150 of ACJA, apply for, obtain, issue or execute any search warrant at the residence of the plaintiff in Abuja or in any of the plaintiff’s residence in any other place or locations in Nigeria.”

    The suit was filed in June 2017 by Mr Sylva Ogwemoh, (SAN), on behalf of Wike.

    Ogwemoh had argued that Section 308 which had to do with the immunity clause was put in place to allow serving governors concentrate on the act of governance.

    But the defendants had in opposition, argued that they had the right to search Wike’s residence even in his absence.

     

  • Senate summons Police IG, DG DSS over invasion, stolen mace

    Sequel to the invasion of the Senate and subsequent theft of the mace by some thugs suspected to be loyal to a suspended member, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, the leadership of the Senate has resolved to summon the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the Director-General of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Lawal Daura.

    Recall that the mace was stolen from the Senate chamber on Wednesday.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that at about 11:50 a.m., a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Habila Joshak, handed over the mace to the clerk of the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, after it was said to have been found under a bridge in Abuja.

    After over one hour of closed-door session on Thursday, the presiding officer, Ike Ekweremadu, confirmed the retrieval of the mace.

    “This hallowed chamber supported by the House of Representatives demanded that the Inspector-General of Police recover and return the stolen mace to the Senate within 24 hours. Concerned colleagues and Nigerians who wanted to find out if the mace has been found have inundated me with calls and messages since last night. Let me therefore formally confirm to you that the mace has been recovered and returned by the police as demanded by this hallowed chamber.”

    Ekweremadu announced the intention of the Senate to invite Idris and Daura next week to brief them on whatever they have found out in their investigation of the matter.

    He added that the lawmakers have resolved that appropriate sanctions be meted out to all security personnel and individuals fingered in the invasion.

    “Nevertheless, we believe there should be consequences for bad behaviour. We swore to uphold the laws of Nigeria and the principles of rule of law. It still beats the imagination of Nigerians and the civilised world that the attackers passed through several security checks and barriers of the National Assembly and gained access into this chamber and also escaped with the mace into the thin air despite the well-known fortified surroundings of this parliament. Therefore, we ruled that it will be a detour to the state of nature when life was lawless and brutish if what happened yesterday was allowed to go unpunished or to be swept under the carpet. It will never happen. We’ll get to the root of this matter.

    “We therefore call on the Inspector-General of Police and DG SSS to ensure that all those who plotted, aided, abetted and executed this dastardly affront on our democracy and belittled Nigeria before the international community must be brought to book to serve as deterrence to others. We will be inviting them next week to brief us.”

    The Deputy Senate President however used the opportunity to again advocate for a decentralised police system which he said would have prevented the attack.

    He said, “This incident has also brought to the fore the case many have always made for the decentralised police system. Ordinarily, a big institution like the National Assembly should have its own police apart from the sergeant-at-arms. However, the security of this parliament is fully outside the control of the National Assembly. Instructively, the same gangsterism that was witnessed here yesterday has been recorded in various state houses of assemblies.

    “I want to assure Nigerians that we will never waver in the responsibilities they have elected us to shoulder. We will all stand together to defend this institution of the parliament and our democracy. We will never fear to legislate and we will never legislate out of fear.”

  • Recover stolen mace in 24 hours – Senate tells Police, DSS

    The Senate has asked the Inspector-General of Police and the State Security Service (SSS) to recover its mace, forcefully removed at the chambers by hoodlums on Wednesday.

    The call followed a resolution by the lawmakers at the end of a closed-door session held immediately after the removal of the mace, the symbol of authority for the legislature.

    Recall that the mace was stolen by thugs suspected to be supporters of a suspended senator, Ovie Omo Agege (Delta, APC).

    Omo-Agege, who was suspended by his colleagues last week, was later arrested by the police on Wednesday afternoon after the Senate plenary.

    The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who announced the call on the security chiefs while presiding at plenary with another mace, said that the legislature would not be intimidated in any way.

    He said that while the Upper Chamber was awaiting the “return’’ of the mace, it would continue with its legislative activities, adding that the lawmakers would not be terrified in carrying out their constitutional duties.

    “This morning, we had an unusual incident at the chambers in the Senate.

    “At about 11.30 (am), some armed thugs invaded the Senate chambers, assaulted some of our staff and some of the media persons and forcefully took away the mace.

    “They passed through the entrance and the gate and left the National Assembly with the mace. They attempted kidnapping two of our senators.

    “They were eventually left, but we decided that we will not be intimidated by the circumstance. We will stand by and defend our democracy.

    “We have decided to go through everything on our Order Paper for today even if it takes us till 6.00 p.m. We will conclude everything here because that is what we are being paid to do.

    “We are going to get to the root of this matter, and I believe that I speak the mind of all of you here if I say that security agencies must recover our mace within 24 hours.

    “We are giving the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Security (DSS) 24 hours to recover our mace,’’ he said.

    Ekweremadu decried the incident and said that it was not only an affront on the Senate, but on democracy.

    He assured that the lawmakers would not be distracted, stressing that they would stand together while continuing with the assignment of representing Nigerians.

    He thanked the Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Yussuf Lasun, who led members of the chamber to the Senate in solidarity over the incident.

    In his remarks, Lasun assured senators of Representatives’ continued support, adding that they would not be deterred from carrying out their responsibilities.

    “I have read a lot of books about representative democracy and what baffles me most is the fact that the ones that try to demean the institution of the assembly are pretenders to the institution of democracy.

    “This means that once your assembly ceases to function or you ostracise or you want to muzzle it, definitely you are no longer practising democracy.

    “Due to the way some of us started practising politics, a lot of Nigerian populace does not agree with the fact that we have to develop the institution of legislation, that it must be well strengthened.

    “Once you do not do that you should as well forget about democracy.

    “We decided to visit to show solidarity not with you alone, but to tell Nigerians that this assembly must make sure that democracy works in Nigeria.

    “We are in solidarity with you and we will make a resolution to ensure that the mace is recovered within 24 hours,’’ he said.

  • Why EFCC, NIA, DSS will continue to clash – National Security Adviser, Monguno

    The National Security Adviser, NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) has given reasons the country’s intelligence agencies would continue to clash.

    Monguno said the clashes will continue unless the National Security Agencies Decree 1986 is amended.

    The retired General was quoted in a report of the Senate ad-hoc committee that probed the clash between officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Department of State Service, DSS, and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, NIA, in 2017.

    The agencies clashed last year when EFCC operatives attempted to arrest a former Director-General of NIA, Ayodele Oke, and Mr Ita Ekpeyong, a former Director-General of the DSS.

    The NSA expressed concern over the lack of unity and cooperation among intelligence agencies in the country.

    He said, “The current state of disjointedness and disharmony amongst sister agencies. This resulted due to the National Security Agencies Decree 1986; Cap 278, Cap 278 LFN section 14 01-2 which has stripped the NSA of the power to check the other Security Agencies that have now become independent of his office due to their now ‘easy’ access to the President. Thus, there is a desperate need to streamline the Agencies and make them answerable to the NSA.”

    He further explained to the lawmakers that the President was aware of the state of things and also presented evidences of instances where his duties were usurped due to lack of discipline exhibited by security agencies.

    He said he was not aware of the EFCC chairman’s move to arrest any of the former intelligence chiefs until after the media reports and that the resistance made by the security agencies during the arrest cast some aspersions.

  • Prolonged detention: Dasuki sues DSS, AGF for ‘rights violation’

    Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki has sued the State Security Service (SSS), its Director General Lawal Daura and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami over his continued detention.

    Dasuki has been in the custody of the SSS since December 29, 2015. The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in a judgment delivered on October 4, 2016 declared his detention unlawful and ordered his release.

    In a fundamental rights enforcement suit marked filed on March 15 before the Federal High Court, Abuja, Dasuki is praying the court to order his unconditional release.

    He is also praying the court to award in his favour, and against the respondents, N5billion as “general damages and compensation” for the alleged violation of his rights.

    The ex-NSA wants the court to order the respondents to the suit to tender public apology to him in two widely published newspapers for allegedly violating his rights “as enshrined under Sections 34(1), 35(1), (4) & (5), 37 & 41(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.

    Dasuki also wants the court to declare that the applicant is entitled to the dignity of his person, personal liberty, freedom of movement, private and family life as enshrined under Sections 34(1), 35(1), (4) & (5), 37 & 41(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

    “A declaration that the continued detention of the applicant, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), by the operatives of the 2nd respondent under the instruction and direction of the 1st respondent (Daura) since Tuesday December 29, 2015 till date violates his fundamental rights under Sections 34(1), 35(1), (4) & (5), 37 & 41(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Article 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and is therefore unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null and void.

    The suit has been assigned to Justice Ahmed Mohammed , but no date has been scheduled for hearing.

     

  • DSS detain OSIWA Nigeria director, release him hours after

    DSS detain OSIWA Nigeria director, release him hours after

    The Department of State Services (DSS) on Friday released Udo Jude Ilo, the Nigeria office director for the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) hours after he responded to a summon by the secret police.

    According to a report by Premium Times, Ilo visited the Abuja Command of the DSS in Asokoro District on Friday morning but was soon rendered incommunicado by officials of the service.

    His driver confirmed driving him to the secret police, but could not tell why he was being kept inside without updates about his condition.

    His colleagues also raised the alarm, with some OSIWA officials confirming the encounter came amidst a series of disturbing messages the organisation has had with Nigeria’s security intelligence bodies recently. But they said they weren’t sure if Mr Ilo was at the SSS over the exchanges.

    Ilo after securing his release said the DSS’ questions centered around his organisation’s activities in Nigeria.

    “They asked to know our partners, how we’re getting funding and who we are funding,” he said shortly after his release.

    “They also indicated interest in profiling us, knowing what we do, who our partners are and how our grantees are using the funds received from.

    “They took my fingerprints and other details and told me our interaction was a friendly one.”

    It was not immediately clear why an intelligence organisation like the DSS would have to take an OSIWA official in for secret interrogation about the organisation’s activities and grantees which are readily available on its website.

    OSIWA is an advocacy and grant-making organisation that pushes for open societies, accountability and inclusive democratic governance.

    It has presence in 10 African countries and is part of the larger Open Society Foundations founded by business magnate, George Soros, which is working to “build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens.”

    The organisation is doing extensive work in Nigeria to strengthen the capacity of the country’s civil society bodies to hold government, individuals and corporations accountable.

    OSIWA has been widely praised for its achievements and transparency, all of which could be seen on its website.

    Ilo said the SSS operatives who interrogated him today told him the exercise was “a friendly” type that should not have attracted media attention.

    The DSS could however not be reached for comments as at the time of filing this report.

  • Senate receives report on EFCC/SSS officers clash

    The Senate on Wednesday received the report of its ad-hoc committee investigating the clash between officers of different security agencies on November 21, 2017.

    The chairman of the committee, Francis Alimikhena, laid the report before the lawmakers during plenary.

    Fatima Rasaki seconded the motion for the report to be laid.

    The Senate had in November 2017, set up the committee to investigate the showdown between officials of the State Security Services (SSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.

    The face-off was said to have stemmed from EFCC’s attempted arrest of former director- general of SSS, Ita Ekpeyong and that of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke.

    “The EFCC went to the residence of the former DG of DSS, Mr Ita Ekpeyong, to effect his arrest and the men of the DSS stopped the attempt,” the chairman said.

    Mr Alimikhena, however, told newsmen that the report had been laid and was awaiting the day for the consideration of the report before he could pass any comment.

     

  • DSS arrests alleged sponsor of Kogi kidnap gang

    The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday confirmed arresting a suspected major financier and armourer of the dreaded Basalube kidnap gang in Kogi, Lawal Mohammed.

    A statement issued by the DSS spokesman in Abuja, Mr. Tony Opuiyo, said the suspect was arrested on March 23, at Japama in Obajana local government area of Kogi.

    Opuiyo said the suspect was apprehended with two other members of the gang – Mohammed Tukur and Abubakar Ibrahim – by the joint team of DSS and the military during the operation.

    He said Tukur was identified as the Chief surveillance officer of the gang who coordinated the gang’s movement across Rivers, Edo, Delta, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kogi and the Federal Capital Territory, preparatory to the execution of their operations.

    Opuiyo said items recovered from the suspects included three cell phones and 25 bottles of psychotropic inducers.

    In a related development, the DSS said it has also arrested five suspected members of the Basulube kidnap gang at Ughelli North local government area of Delta State.

    The suspects are – Ali Abubakar, a top ranking member of the gang, Abubakareem Idrisa,Bashir Tsoho, Sanusi Abubakar, Nuhu Muhammadu and Abubakar Abdulhammeed.

    “This arrest was effected while Abubakar was perfecting plans to carry out kidnap operations in Obajana, Kogi,” he said.

    He said in its determination to decimate the gang, the DSS on March 26 arrested Abubakar Danlansu, driver and weapon courier of the group at Dikko area of Niger.

    “The suspect was arrested enroute Edo from where he was to convey weapons to Obajana in Kogi for the gang’s planned kidnap operations,” he added.

  • How we negotiated release of Dapchi schoolgirls from Boko Haram’s captivity – DSS

    The Director General of Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura on Friday narrated how the Service negotiated and secured the release of 105 out of the 111 girls abducted from a secondary school in Dapchi, Yobe State on February 19.

    Daura, who spoke when President Muhammadu Buhari received the released girls at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja also disclosed that six of the abducted girls were yet to be accounted for.

    According to him, two pupils of Dapchi primary school were also released with the 105 secondary school girls on Wednesday.

    Daura, who formally presented the released girls to President Buhari, said: “I wish to inform Mr. President that I05 out of 111 female students abducted from the Government Girls’ Science Technical College, Dapchi on 19 February, 2018 were released two days ago, following painstaking backchannel dialogue with their abductors.

    “However, before you today, Mr. President, are two additional young primary school pupils, namely Hafsat Haruna, an 11-year-old primary six pupil, and Mala Maina Bukar, 13 years old and also a primary six pupil.

    “The remaining six Dapchi girls are yet to be accounted for, and dialogue on these students is still ongoing.”

    Recalling the negotiation process that led to their release, he said: “It may be recalled that the President had given a clear directive to security agencies to use peaceful options to ensure the timely and safe release of the girls.

    “What followed were intense behind-the-scene dialogue spearheaded by the Department of State Services.

    “The insurgents’ only condition was their demands for cessation of hostilities and temporary ceasefire to enable them return the girls at the point they picked them.

    “They required assurances that the government security forces would keep to this.

    “The exercise was arduous and quite challenging. The sensitivity of the operation and some uncertainties surrounding it, particularly the routes to be used, nature of transportation, realization and concern that the girls were not kept at one place, issues of encountering military checkpoints within the theater and indeed keeping the operation on strictly the “principles of need-to-know” made the whole exercise more complicating.

    “Beyond the release of the abducted girls, our primary interest for engaging in the dialogue was informed by the following: permanent possible cessation of hostilities, discussing the fate of the arrested insurgents and innocent Nigerian citizens being held hostage, and possibility of granting amnesty to repentant insurgents.

    “These presently seem problematic because the insurgents are factionalised while holding various spheres of influence in their guerrilla controlled enclaves.

    “The negative impact of social media on otherwise classified operations and, of course, some of the utterances of the government functionaries who were not competent to comment on the issues, posed challenges that almost marred the rescue efforts.”

    Despite the challenges, he said, the Service managed to successfully conclude the operation leading to the release of the schoolgirls.

    On the state of the girls and medical care, he said: “On release, the victims were taken into the DSS medical facility and are put through programmes to give them mental stability.

    “As such, they are given psychological mental evaluation conducted by trained specialists.

    “About four of them were discovered to have broken limbs and were sent for X-ray.

    “Almost all of them had one skin infection or the other, having not taken bath for over a month.

    “They have been medically examined and those with ailments were treated.

    “The measures are to ensure that they are in good health.”

    Speaking on the family access to the girls, he said: “The girls, including four representatives of their school as well as their parents were brought into the medical facility as part of measures to relieve tension and anxiety.

    “The presence of these representatives have further re-assured and stabilised the girls.”

    Suggesting the way forward, Daura said: “Mr. President, in view of the nation’s experience through these years of insurgency, it is humbly suggested that efforts be sustained towards:

    1. Ensuring the release of all abducted persons in the North East Theatre of Operation
    2. Improve the strategic plan for the safety of schools in vulnerable locations, using all available national assets.

    iii. Improve on the coordination efforts amongst security agencies to avoid future incidents.

    1. Expand the current dialogue towards conflict mitigation and resolution, with a view to getting an everlasting peace for the entire sub-region.”

    He said that the feat so far recorded in the release of the victims was a clear example of collaboration among security agencies.

    He said: “First, let me express our profound appreciation to Mr. President for his direction and maximum support throughout the process of this dialogue.

    “Also, I wish to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Police, our friendly neighbours and international partners who have played key roles in our determination to rid our beloved country of the menace of terrorism.”

  • DSS arrest Kwankwaso’s former chief of staff

    Operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) on Thursday arrested the former Chief of Staff to Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Yunusa Adamu Dangwani.

    A source in the agency said that Dangwani was arrested while he was trying to flee to Saudi Arabia, at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA)

    The source added that the former Commissioner for Water Resources was trailed by operatives of the DSS after the arrest of one Captain Umar Abdullahi (RTD).

    Captain Abdullahi who posed as a terrorist was arrested after he allegedly sent an SMS to a prominent personality in Kano state threatening to make the state ungovernable like the republic of Somalia over some issues.

    The retired military officer was said to have confessed following interrogation that Dangwani contracted him to carry out such threat.

    The source further revealed that a transaction of N1.5 Million between him (Abdullahi) and Dangwani was traced by the operatives with a documented evidence of a bank deposit.

    To this end, Dangwani on realizing that the retired Captain was arrested attempted to abscond to Saudia Arabia but was apprehended in the airport by eagle- eye operatives of the DSS and whisked away to Abuja.