Sowore driven away to detention in Falana’s car by DSS operative
The crude and primitive methods of the DSS have exposed the ineptness of Nigeria’s intelligence community
Nigeria’s Department of State Services, DSS, notoriety for breaking the law is now becoming legendary. The online publisher of Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore has been in the detention of the DSS in the last 126 days against repeated court orders granting him bail following treason charges by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
On December 5, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu presiding over the case, has had enough of the shenanigans of the DSS, in court she threatened to reign in the Director of the Service for contempt of court if it refused to release Sowore and another accused in the case Olawale Bakare. Justice Ijeoma also ordered the DSS to pay Sowore the sum of N100,000 for illegal conduct.
The DSS reluctantly released Sowore and Bakare but on December 6, (today) at the same court, armed DSS operatives invaded the court. They assaulted Sowore in an attempt to re-arrest him. In a clip that is viral in the media, a DSS operative is seen holding Sowore down as his supporters tried to prevent his arrest in the court of law.
On December 5, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu presiding over the case, has had enough of the shenanigans of the DSS, in court she threatened to reign in the Director of the Service for contempt of court if it refused to release Sowore and another accused in the case Olawale Bakare. Justice Ijeoma also ordered the DSS to pay Sowore the sum of N100,000 for illegal conduct.
The DSS reluctantly released Sowore and Bakare but on December 6, (today) at the same court, armed DSS operatives invaded the court. They assaulted Sowore in an attempt to re-arrest him. In a clip that is viral in the media, a DSS operative is seen holding Sowore down as his supporters tried to prevent his arrest in the court of law.
Justice Ojukwu had to duck down to protect herself from the invaders of her court. Sowore, Bakare and their lawyer Femi Falana, were seen driven out of the court premises in Falana’s car by a DSS operative.
The action of the DSS in Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu’s court has again shown the Service to be a lawless organisation, lacking the basic decorum required of an intelligence apparatus of state. In the world of the 21st century, the DSS is still operating in the mesh of its forerunners such as the Nigeria Security Organisation, NSO, that odious secret service used in terrorising Nigerians.
With the myriad of security challenges bedevilling the nation, one would expect the DSS and other agencies of the secret service to be more focused and savvy in meeting these security challenges head on. The crude and primitive methods of the DSS have exposed the ineptness of Nigeria’s intelligence community. This has gone on for too long, President Buhari should wade in now before the walls come crumbling on everyone.
The action of the DSS in Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu’s court has again shown the Service to be a lawless organisation, lacking the basic decorum required of an intelligence apparatus of state. In the world of the 21st century, the DSS is still operating in the mesh of its forerunners such as the Nigeria Security Organisation, NSO, that odious secret service used in terrorising Nigerians.
With the myriad of security challenges bedevilling the nation, one would expect the DSS and other agencies of the secret service to be more focused and savvy in meeting these security challenges head on. The crude and primitive methods of the DSS have exposed the ineptness of Nigeria’s intelligence community. This has gone on for too long, President Buhari should wade in now before the walls come crumbling on everyone.
