TheCable

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of “embarrassing” the current administration through “illegal” arrest and detention innocent citizens.

In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, the lawyer alleged that the secret police is using its operations to settle personal scores.

Falana said contrary to Buhari’s promise to ensure “responsible and accountable governance at all levels of government in the country” when he assumed office, the security agency has engaged in the “indiscriminate arrest and detention of many citizens and foreigners living in Nigeria”.

He said the “failure” of Buhari’s government to call the DSS leadership to order has created the impression that the current administration does not have respect for the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people.

The letter read: “The incessant disobedience of court orders by the DSS has questioned the commitment of the administration to operate under the rule of law.

“At the recently concluded annual conference of Nigerian Judges which held in Abuja, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen was compelled to condemn official disregard for court rulings and orders.

“Under the current democratic dispensation the fundamental right of every person to personal liberty is guaranteed by section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“Thus, under the prevailing human rights law regime in Nigeria, if anyone is going to be detained beyond 24 or 48 hours the detaining authority is mandatorily required to obtain a remand order from a Magistrate court in line with section 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

“But in violation of the relevant provisions of the Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the DSS has acquired notoriety for arresting and detaining innocent members of the public without any legal justification whatsoever.”

He listed persons whose fundamental right to personal liberty has been infringed upon by the DSS to include Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser; Ibraheem Elzakzaky, Shi’ites leader, and Zeinab, his wife; as well as Nitin Verma and Umesh Asudani, two Indian nationals.

Falana said persons illegally detained in DSS custody should be released or charged to court, and also urged Buhari to direct the DSS to “desist from further arresting and detaining innocent people and criminal suspects without court orders”.