Court orders DSS to pay N5m to Ekiti lawmaker

The Department of State Services, DSS, has been ordered to pay N5million to an Ekiti lawmaker, Afolabi Akanni, over his illegal arrest and detention.

Akanni, who represents Efon Constituency 1 in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, was arrested on March 4 by DSS operatives who invaded the House of Assembly complex for alleged breach of security regulations. He was released on March 22.

A Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti gave the order on Wednesday.

Counsel to Akanni, Obafemi Adewale, informed the judge, Taiwo Taiwo, that the lawmaker could not be physically present in court because he was still receiving “post-traumatic” treatment in a hospital outside the state.

In his judgement, Justice Taiwo noted that the respondent, DSS, had all along failed to either deny or defend the position, facts and allegations of the applicant.

According to the judge, in the eyes of the law, “there is no basis for the court to believe that all that the applicant had alleged against the DSS were not true”, adding that Mr. Akanni’s fundamental rights as a citizen of Nigeria, as specified by the principles of the Rule of Law and the African Charter on the Rights of individuals, had been violated by the DSS in illegally arresting and continually detaining him for 18 days.

The court granted three out of the four reliefs sought by the applicant’s counsel, which are, “whether the applicant’s unlawful arrest and detention is justified , whether the said intimidation, torture and continued detention is not a violation of his fundamental human rights and a violation of the Rule of Law, and whether the applicant’s is not entitled to damages”.

Read also: Dasuki to spend another month in detention before access to lawyers

Counsel to Akanni, Adewale, while speaking to reporters after the court session, said the judgment is a courageous demonstration of the willingness and readiness of the judiciary to protect the sanctity of the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights of the citizens of this country.

“This is not about Afolabi Akanni, it is not about the Ekiti State House of Assembly, and it is not about Governor Fayose. It is about the ordinary man on the streets who has this right but who is now facing an apparent trend all over the federation of a gradual return to the days of impunity when security agencies trudge relentlessly on the rights of the citizens of this country under various guises,” he said.

“The people working in security have their limits as specified by the laws that created them but most of them operate as if they are above the law.

“What the court has done today is to again re-emphasize that we have a constitution in Nigeria which is supreme to every other organs of government and which guides every of our conduct including the President of the country.

“It is not even about the N5 million awarded for damages and the court has stated that when you do what the DSS has done to Akanni, the fine must be paid. Within the parameters of the law, we will ensure that the money is paid by the Respondent.”

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