Lawyers knock Dasuki over DSS’ siege

Some prominent lawyers in the country have berated the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col Sambo Dasuki (retd) for claiming that the recent search on his residences by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) was illegal.

According to them, the search was lawful as the operatives were armed with a search warrant, and that it was criminal to frustrate the execution of the warrant.

In his reaction, Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, said the DSS officials did nothing wrong on the search conducted on Dasuki’s residence last Thursday.

In a statement in Lagos, Falana said rather than blaming the DSS officials for carrying out their official duty, Col. Dasuki breached the law when he refused to allow the SSS officials “free and unhindered access” to his residence for hours.

According to him, contrary to “the misleading information circulated in the media by the former NSA,” his house was not illegally raided but lawfully searched pursuant to a warrant issued by a magistrate.

Falana said: “The fundamental rights to personal liberty and privacy of the home of every Nigerian citizen are constitutionally guaranteed. As fundamental rights are not absolute they may be breached in accordance with a procedure permitted by law.

“Hence, by virtue of section 146 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, the residence of any citizen can be searched with a warrant duly signed by a judge, magistrate or Justice of the Peace. Section 149 thereof imposes a duty on any person residing in any building which is liable to be searched to allow ‘free and unhindered access to it and afford all reasonable facilities for its search’.”

The lawyer noted that a team of DSS officials, armed with a search warrant, had attempted to execute the warrant on the private residence of Dasuki in Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory, but the former NSA refused to allow the officials access to his house for hours until the armed troops guiding the house were withdrawn by the Army authorities.

He maintained that the law requires the owner or occupier of any house or apartment to allow a search once a search warrant signed by the appropriate authority is produced by law enforcement personnel.

Falana, however, advised the DSS to return the passport of Col. Dasuki to him forthwith since it was not authorized by a court of law.

In his reaction, Chief Joe Agi, SAN, said: “Everybody in this country is subject to the rule of law and the law is above all of us, except perhaps on some issues involving the president, vice president, governors and their deputies, who are covered by immunity within the period they are in office.

Read also: Dasuki, a national threat, says DSS

“On the case of the former NSA, I think the DSS has done well and acted within the confines of the law. I believe the action they took was legal. The NSA cannot complain of breach of his right when there was a valid warrant that was issued by a competent court for his house to be searched on reasonable ground of suspicion.

“More so, they were said to have found incriminating items during the search, a pointer to the fact that the intelligence report that led to the issuance of the warrant was not wrong after all.

“My candid advice to the former NSA is that he should not bother going to court over the matter. Rather, he should concentrate on justifying how he acquired the items that were taken from his house. If he has justifications for the property then he will come out clean.”

Another SAN that pleaded anonymity said: “What the DSS did was lawful. No law stops them from taking a warrant or searching anyone without immunity. The security agency acted within the bounds of the law. The former NSA is not above the law.”

On his part, Mr. Babatunde Fashanu, SAN, said: “Any warrant of arrest issued by a court of law, be it at the high court or magistrate court is deemed to be dully issued and bounded. So, no matter what the situation is, the warrant is presumed to be an order of a court which must be executed. In most cases, the police secure such warrant without due diligence, nonetheless, if it is from the court it has to be executed.

According to Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos lawyer, “it is wrong for the NSA not to allow the DSS to execute the warrant issued by the court of law. No matter how and whoever you are, the law is taller than everybody. Nobody is above the law. So, frustrating the execution of the warrant is also a criminal offence.

“Examining the criminal code, the DSS ought to prosecute him for that. Not doing that now is another issue entirely. The magistrate court under the law has the power and authority to grant the warrant and whenever it is issued, it is a duly granted court order.”

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