OndoReporter | Detention: Fayose says DSS gradually becoming oppression tool for APC

OndoReporter | Detention: Fayose says DSS gradually becoming oppression tool for APC



Ado-Ekiti-Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele
Fayose has described the denial of the
Department of State Services (DSS) that it
was not aware of any court ruling, ordering the
release of the detained Ekiti State House of
Assembly member, Hon Afolabi Akanni, as
"ridiculous, height of executive rascality and
open display of contempt for the rule of law".

Fayose said it was the highest point of
wickedness and barbarism in a democratic
setting, for a Nigerian to be arrested by
DSS and kept behind bars for 15 days without
coming out openly to state his offence.

He called the attention of Nigerians to the
alarm raised on Thursday that Akanni had died
in detention, saying he did this because the
DSS had kept the whole Ekiti in abeyance
about the health status of the lawmaker.

Governor Fayose, who spoke through his
Special Assistant on Public Communications,
Lere Olayinka, said the fact that Akanni told
journalists that he slumped twice in
detention on Wednesday gave credence to the
alarm raised about his ‘purported’ death.

He said the DSS should tell Nigerians “when
Hon. Akanni committed those offences
amounting to breach of security? Did Hon.
Akanni plot coup or is he leading insurgents to
warrant his detention without trial?
“We wish to reiterate that government
addressed the press yesterday based on the
information available to it and since the DSS
was not talking to anyone concerning the
status of Hon Akanni, the government had no
option than to bring the disturbing information
to the public domain.

“From the picture of Hon Akanni that we saw
on television and published in the newspapers,
it is without doubt that he is terribly sick and
in need of urgent medical attention , and
disturbing state of health could have been
informed by his critical state of health”.

Fayose told the DSS to release Akanni or
charged him to court , having
complied with the order of substituted service
granted by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal
High Court on March 16, which ordered
that the production warrant issued on DSS be
published in a national newspapers.
The governor stated that since Nigeria is
operating a constitutional democracy that it
must release the detainee with immediate
effect or charge him to court.

“While we are not questioning the rights of the
DSS to handle matters relating to breach of
security, we however, wish to ask how and
when in particular did Akanni committed those
offences amounting to breach of security? Did
he plot a coup or led insurgents to warrant
his detention without trial?

“If truly the DSS has evidence against him, he
should be prosecuted , this is what they do in
a civilized clime”, he said.

On the position allegedly canvassed by DSS
that it has not been served the production
warrant issued by federal high court in Ado
Ekiti, compelling the agency to produce the
suspect in court on March 16, Fayose said:
“The court bailiff, one Araromi Ademola was
at the DSS office on March 14, but they
refused to accept it.

“The DSS officers according to Araromi said
they were acting on order from above. On
March 16, the court ordered that they should
be served through newspaper publication, we
published on pages 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41
of the Tribune edition of March 17. Can the
DSS claims that it didn’t see the publication?”.
He appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to call
the DSS to order and stop harassing officials
of state government.