TheCable

The family of Gordon Obua, the detained ex-CSO to former President Goodluck Jonathan, has accused Lawal Daura, director-general of the State Security Service (SSS), of plotting to watch Obua “die in detention”.

Demanding that he should be charged to court or released immediately, the family described his detention as illegal.

They said no allegation has been brought against Obua so far, noting that his whereabouts have been unknown since last week Thursday.

“We can tell the public categorically that as we write, he has not been confronted with any allegation, neither was he given an opportunity to respond to any allegation before he was taken into custody,” read a statement issued by Andrew Itsekiri, the family’s lawyer.

“His ordeal began about a week proceeding his eventual arrest last week Thursday, when the director-general of the SSS, Lawan Daura, sadistically on daily basis, requested that he should report to the SSS headquarters to respond to allegations known only to Lawan Daura and which he repeatedly failed to disclose to him despite repeated demands by the erstwhile CSO.

“On each of the 7 days preceding his arrest, he would report to the SSS headquarters at about 8am in the morning and released to go back home at about 11pm without being confronted with any allegation.

“At a stage, Daura requested from him if he [Daura] should investigate the imaginary allegation or if a junior officer should do so. The consistent response of the erstwhile CSO was for him to at least know the allegation if any to enable him respond.

“Lawan Daura never confronted him with any petition until he was taken into custody when he reported last Thursday. As we write this, nobody can access him, including family members, friends and his solicitors.

“Considering that he is diabetic and suffers from serious high blood pressure, it is clear that the motive of Lawan Daura is to either watch him die in detention or torture him to admit to crimes he knows nothing about.”

Onochie Onwuegbuna, Obua’s lawyer, had earlier claimed that the secret police has denied his client his medications despite being diabetic and hypertensive.

He also demanded his unconditional release.

A source told TheCable that the SSS arrested Obua in connection with ongoing investigations on the alleged movement of large sums of “security money” in the last administration as well as oil theft in the Niger Delta.

TheCable understands that he went on hunger strike since Thursday to protest the conditions of his detention, including a lack of access to lawyers and his family members.

Appointed CSO by Jonathan in 2010, Obua left his position at the end of the former president’s tenure on May 29, although he remains in active service at the security agency.