Group wants court to order Police, DSS to probe claims Omo-Agege is an ex-convict

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has been approached by a pro-democracy group, the Incorporated Trustees of Empowerment for Unemployed Youths Initiative, asking it to order the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate claims that the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is an ex-convict in the United States of America.

In suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/555/2020 the group is seeking an order granting them leave to apply for judicial review by way of order of mandamus compelling the Director General of the DSS and the Inspector General of Police to forthwith investigate, arrest and prosecute the Deputy Senate President over his alleged conviction by the Hearing Department of the State Bar Court in Los Angeles, California, USA on November 30, 1995 for felony involving moral turpitude to wit, forgery of cheque in the amount of $890 with which he intended to defraud the Bank of America, Ahmed Majome and Elpert Defritas in violation of California Penal Code Section 470.

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Edward Omada, the counsel for the group, while speaking to reporters after filing the suit, insisted that it was the responsibility of the DSS and the NPF to conduct an investigation into the issue in the interest of the country.

He said: “The plaintiffs are here and what we are saying this morning is for them to have written to the DSS and police on January 17 and May 22, they repeated the same letter asking them to profile properly, to investigate properly and see a way of prosecuting the person of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who happens to be the Deputy Senate President at the moment in connection with his conviction in the USA.

“Where a letter is written to the security agencies which have what we call statutory duties to do a particular job, the court can compel them by order of mandamus. That is what we have filed this morning.”

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