A Kaduna-based lawyer has dragged the Director, Department of State Security (DSS) to Court over alleged five months detention of a suspect without trial in a Court of law.
According to the lawyer, Mr. Onjefu Adalache, while speaking to newsmen, his client, John Boyi, was arrested on January 13, 2022 and detained by the DSS since January 16, 2022 till the time of filing this report without being charged to Court.
The case is titled, “Suit No.KDH/KD/118M/2022 between John Boyi (Applicant) and The Director, Department of State Security (Respondent).
In an affidavit in support of motion on notice which was made available to Journalists, the Counsel to the suspect said he had on February 7, 2022 instituted court action against the DSS for enforcement of the fundamental human rights of the Applicant.
He said the suit was heard on March 3rd, 2022 by Justice B.F. Zubairu of the Kaduna State High Court which ordered the Respondent to, “Forthwith either arraign the Applicant before any Court of competent jurisdiction if they feel he has committed any offence or release the Applicant”.
The Counsel to the Applicant maintained that, “The order of the Honourable Court was instantly enrolled and served on the Respondent”, and that, “the Respondent refused to obey the stated order”.
Mr. Adalache, also in a notice of consequences of disobedience of order of Court by the Director of DSS, dated May 5th, 2022, advised that, “Unless you obey the directions contained in the order, you will be guilty of contempt of Court and will be liable to be committed to prison”.
Justice B.F. Zubairu had on February 3rd, 2022 ordered the Respondents to, “Forthwith either arraign the Applicant before any Court of competent jurisdiction if they feel he has committed any offence or release the Applicant”.
Meanwhile, the DSS has been served notice to appear in Court on June 15, 2022 and, “Take notice that the Applicant will on the 15 day of June, 2022 at the hour of nine in the forenoon, apply to this court for an order for your committal to o prison for having disobeyed the order of the Ho Court directing you to forthwith arraign the Applicant before any Court if competent jurisdiction if you feel he had committed any offence or release the Applicant.
“And further take notice that you are hereby required to attend the Court on the first mentioned day to show cause why an order for your committal should not be made”.
